Oleksii Pavlenko: Ukrainian products comply with international quality standards

“Turkey is an important strategic partner of Ukraine. The Ukrainian agricultural sector, having harvested nearly 60 million tons of grain, this year, at the minimal estimates, is able to double the exports to Turkey,” Oleksii Pavlenko, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, stated in a live interview to the TV channel “UA: Pershyi”.

The Minister noted that, for ten months of 2015, the volume of agricultural export to Turkey amounted to $566 million, comprising 12% more than for the same period of the previous year. At the same time, imports in this period decreased by almost a half – from $289 million in 2014 to $150 million in 2015.

According to the Minister, the main share of imports from Turkey is covered by fruits, nuts and zest; oilseeds; vegetables, plants and root crops; tobacco and tobacco products. In the case if Russia introduces a trade embargo against Ukraine from 1 January 2016, Ukraine can increase the share of Turkish import through the additional supply of tobacco products from Turkey.

Oleksii Pavlenko added a meeting with the Ambassador of Turkey to Ukraine was scheduled to speed up the processes of communication on intensified trade between the two countries. Moreover, the Ukrainian side is open to negotiations with the Turkish business community and traders for effective development of cooperation in the agricultural sector.

“Apart from cereals and oil, we are ready to offer Turkey dairy products and chicken meat of the highest grade. Ukrainian products comply with the international quality standards. We offer ecologically clean products that meet all the international requirements”, Minister Oleksii Pavlenko stressed.