Ukraine’s accession to the EU will have a significant impact on the Slovak agro -food sector, in some areas also negative. This is coincided by experts whose TASR appealed in connection with the published analysis of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MPRV) of the Slovak Republic, which was submitted to the issue by agrorezort to the interdepartmental comment procedure together with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the Government of the Slovak Republic for the Plan of Renewal and Knowledge Economics.
According to Viliam Páleník from the Slovak Academy of Sciences after Ukraine’s joining the Union, payments from the common agricultural policy of the EU. “On the other hand, it is necessary to realistically consider that they will be lower for all, that is, even for existing members. From this point of view, the relative competitiveness between Slovakia and the rest of the EU will not change basically, because it will probably also take the Eurofunds as well,” Underlined Páleník.
According to the Slovak Agricultural and Food Chamber (SPPK), Ukraine is a “cereal of the world” and its possible accession to the EU will clearly affect the entire EU agro -food sector, but especially Slovakia as a neighboring country with agri -food, which is not in ideal condition. “Slovak agriculture and food has long faced low investment in modernization, insufficient access to innovation and poor development of rural infrastructure,” SPPK spokeswoman Jana Holéciová emphasized.
“Certainly we can talk about opportunities and calls for change, for example in the field of workforce, in the area of necessary production diversification, but In particular, we perceive the negative effects of possible expansion, which we were convinced shortly after the outbreak of the military conflict in Ukraine, ” Holéciová pointed out.
According to her, Ukraine is able to offer products, especially cereals, oilseeds, sugar and honey at significantly more competitive prices. “There is also a question of redistribution of financial resources for all EU Member States after the entry of Ukraine And the question of the pace of achieving the same production, environmental and safety standards by Ukraine, what all EU countries achieve in the field of agri -food, ”said the spokeswoman of the SPPK.
According to Daniel Molnar, director of the Union of Poultry Poultry Slovakia (ÚHS), the integration of Ukraine into the single market will have a significant impact on the Slovak agro -food sector, including the breeding and processing of poultry. “In order to ensure protection of Slovak agriculture and food industry, it is essential that we require Ukraine to enter the Union only on the condition of fully fulfilled all conditions valid in the EU,” Underlined Molnár.
MPRVs said in the analysis that Ukraine’s entry into EU structures can negatively affect, for example, Slovak poultry production, poultry meat and consumer eggs. While in 2021, according to the analysis from Ukraine to Slovakia, 1039 tonnes of poultry meat (for 1 million euros) were imported, in 2023 it was 17,711 tons (for 35.16 million euros) and in 2024 already 22,878 tonnes (EUR 50.82 million).
“We assume that Ukraine’s accession to the EU may have a negative impact on the budget of the Slovak Republic within the Common Agricultural Policy and the volume of financial support for Slovak farmers, but Also for the volume of funds for EU investment, ” He added Molnár.
According to the MPRV analysis, agriculture will be one of the most sensitive sectors influenced by the extension of the EU by Ukraine, which represents a significant and highly competitive actor in the production of cereals, oilseeds and products of animal origin. Agrosector in Slovakia will be according to government material face pressure for transformation, diversification of cultivated crops and orientation to products with higher added value.
