OREANDA-NEWS. March 19, 2008. The Ministry of Agrarian Policy expects that meat imports to Ukraine will be reduced by 3.4 percent, or by 7 thousand tons to 200 thousand tons in 2008 year-on-year, official of the Ministry of Agricultural Policy Vitaliy Pakholiuk informed.

According to him, the meat imports volume is expected at 200 thousand tons on the Ukrainian market, including 150 thousand tons of beef and 50 thousand tons of pork.

At the same time, Pakholiuk noted that a meeting of the ministry's representatives with meat producers took place, where main meat producers informed that their need in pork may exceed the balance indexes and as to beef it may be less against the forecasted volumes in 2008.

The Agrarian Policy Ministry forecasts that Ukraine will be able to fully supply its market with national meat without importing this product.

Producers of meat and meat products expressed their worry over intensification of imports of illegal meat and fresh meat to Ukraine.

In September 2007, the then Vice Premier Viktor Slauta projected that Ukraine will be able to fully supply the home market with domestic meat by the end of 2008 and early 2009.