July 9 2003, 12:02 APK-Inform

Participants of round-table meeting in Simferopol think Ukraine should raise quality standards of its farm products

Ukraine's agriculture will draw benefits from enlargement of European Union if Ukraine manages to raise quality standards of its agricultural products. This was said by Vice-President of European Business Association Jorge Intariago and the First Secretary of the Embassy of Poland in Ukraine Lech Dzemaszkevicz to the participants of round-table meeting "Consequences of EU Enlargement for Agriculture of Ukraine", held by Ukrainian Ministry of Economy, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and European Business Association on July 4 in Simferopol.

European Union has higher requirements to the quality of agricultural products than those existing in Ukraine, the speakers said. It will not be easy for Ukraine to comply with these standards. However, those companies which are now trading with the future members of the EU and the products of which are now in compliance with the EU requirements will draw from the EU enlargement an opportunity to increase the sales market and save costs for certification of their products, as the EU requirements are the same throughout its territory, and there will be no need to certify the products separately in each country.

The First Deputy State Secretary on the Issues of European Integration at the Ministry of Economy Petro Kaban said that up to 2007 Ukraine was to set about 7,500 new standards, a considerable part of which concerned the quality of products. It is important from the point of view of successful competition of Ukrainian companies in international markets after Ukraine's accession to WTO. "Ukraine's participation in the World Trade Organisation is essentially important for successful competition of the country's agriculture, as well as other industries, on the European market", Kaban said.