Ukraine Agricultural Competitiveness

World Bank

Washington, DC

关键词: ACCESS TO FOOD;    ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS;    ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE;    ADVERSE SELECTION;    AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE;   

RP-ID  :  44843

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The agri-food sector is an importantpart of the Ukrainian economy. Agriculture could make aneven larger contribution to economic growth and the vitalityof rural areas in Ukraine than is currently the case.Ukraine has the agro-climatic potential to be a major playeron world agricultural markets. Agricultural competitivenessin Ukraine also suffers from inadequate systems to test anddocument food product quality and food safety.Ukraine's food safety control system is complicated andcharacterized by fragmented and often overlappingjurisdictions. Many standards applied in Ukraine areinconsistent with World Trade Organization (WTO) provisions,with standards established by the responsible internationalbodies and with accepted practices in international trade.Without improvements towards an efficient andinternationally recognized food quality and safety controlsystem, Ukrainian agriculture will find it increasinglydifficult to sell into international markets and itsproducts will not be able to command top prices. The ban onUkrainian meat, eggs, fish, cheese, milk and butter imposedby Russia in mid-January 2006 provides an example of thedisruptions that can result. This negative impact oncompetitiveness will be increasingly acute for moreperishable products, higher-processed products and productsthat combine different agricultural raw materials - in otherwords many high-value added products. Policy reforms andinvestments could greatly increase the competitiveness ofUkrainian agriculture. In the policy sphere, greaterrestraint should be exercised in the area of trade, marketand price policy. Ad hoc intervention on agriculturalmarkets should be reduced. Accession to the WTO is animportant and encouraging signal that policy makers arewilling to adopt less intrusive and more stable trade,market and price policies. In the investment sphere,priorities include food safety monitoring and certificationsystems, trade infrastructure and logistic capacity, foodchain management, technical advisory and market informationsystems, streamlined and transparent customs procedures,land markets, and research and education institutions.