Scandal over Ukrainian eggs

According to the CNPO, at least four Ukrainian shipments arriving via Slovakia and Poland have been found to contain substances that are dangerous to human health. In addition, Ukrainian producers are not complying with EU animal welfare rules or the French ban on the slaughter of male chicks.

French Agriculture Minister Anne Genevard immediately wrote to the European Commission, urging it to further tighten hygiene controls and ban imports of eggs containing substances banned in the EU. “Our national food sovereignty means giving priority to French production over imports that do not respect our standards or consumer expectations,” Genevard stressed.

The debate comes at a time when demand for eggs is growing across Europe. Amid inflation, eggs remain an affordable source of protein for consumers, with demand in France up 5 percent so far this year. That’s 350 million more eggs than in the same period last year.

However, CNPO president Yves-Marie Beaudet said French producers were fully capable of supplying the market, making it unjustified to increase imports.

Ukraine has doubled its egg exports in a year, with exports increasingly shifting from its former overseas markets to Europe. Meanwhile, domestic prices rose significantly, prompting the Ukrainian antimonopoly authority to launch an investigation, which found signs of a violation of competition law.