Ukraine's big beef

Ukraine introduced a ban on meat and meat products from Poland last week, three weeks after signaling that meat without the necessary veterinary documents was entering the country. The lack of "necessary documents" was cited as the reason for the ban. However, Poland's chief veterinary officer, Krzysztof Jażdżewski, claims that meat entering Ukraine illegally is a matter for the Ukrainian customs officials to deal with, not veterinary bodies.

"You can't stop the legal import of meat just because somebody smuggles it in illegally," Jażdżewski said. The president of the Polish Meat Association, Witold Choiński, claims that smuggling cannot be prevented by official bans. "Smuggling will continue anyway," he says.

In recent months, meat prices in Ukraine have fallen by 30 percent, reportedly due to a huge influx of illegal meat. The falling prices have alarmed Ukrainian meat producers.

Choiński says that the ban will make the biggest impact on companies trading legally with Ukraine.

"The smaller, regional firms will be particularly hurt. They were relying on the Ukrainian market to a greater extent than the larger producers, which have a more diverse export target," Choiński says. Last year exports to Ukraine amounted to around five percent of total meat exports, with a value of EUR 22 (zł.87) million.

Jażdżewski said that a meeting with representatives of the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture is due to be held soon. But there are rumors that if the meeting does not take place, the introduction of restrictions on Ukrainian meat imports is almost certain. "Right now it certainly is a problem that two of our closest markets, where the costs of transport are the lowest, are closed to us," Choiński said.