Question Period Note: SUPPORTING UKRAINE’S AGRICULTURE SECTOR

Q1 – What is Canada doing to open its economy to Ukrainian exports? Q2 – What is the current situation with regards to supply-managed goods such as poultry, dairy, and eggs from Ukraine?

R.1 - • The actions taken by Russia – with support from Belarus – have had a significant effect on Ukraine’s economy, including its ability to produce and export its goods to other countries, including Canada.
• To help support Ukraine’s economy, Canada has been temporarily waiving tariffs and trade remedy duties on imports originating from Ukraine since June 9, 2022. R.2 - • On June 9, 2023, the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance announced Canada’s extension of the Ukraine Goods Remission Order until June 9, 2024. This was subsequently extended to June 9, 2025. This extension helps support Ukrainian manufacturing and trade activities in light of the enduring nature of the conflict and its repercussions.
• Taking into account views expressed by the supply-managed sectors, the scope of goods covered by the Order was amended to exclude over-access supply-managed dairy, poultry, and eggs from duty relief after June 9, 2023.
• This re-establishes the status quo of ensuring predictable levels of imports that support production planning and Canada’s supply management system.

Canada’s support for grain storage and laboratory equipment
• On June 28, 2022, former Prime Minister Trudeau announced $52 million for agricultural solutions to respond to Ukraine’s urgent need to increase grain storage capacity and enable the timely diagnostic testing and monitoring of animal diseases to allow for export certification.
• Canada provided the funding via the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), as part of its Rapid Response Plan for Ukraine, for grain storage and lab equipment. Of the $52 million, $50M was allocated for grain storage and $2M for lab equipment.
• With this funding, FAO initiated tenders for grain storage solutions in Ukraine and facilitated the successful distribution of close to 30,000 grain sleeves to support 1,679 farmers store nearly six million tonnes of grain across Ukraine.
• As a result of FAO’s competitive bidding process for PCR equipment, six regional state laboratories in Ukraine were equipped with diagnostic lab equipment (for testing and monitoring of animal diseases) to facilitate export certification.
Eliminating tariffs on goods imported from Ukraine
• While most goods from Ukraine enter Canada duty-free as a result of the Canada–Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA), the Remission Order provides the ability to import CUFTA-covered goods duty-free with a lesser administrative burden due to simplified conditions relating to rules of origin and shipment documentation.
Ukraine Remission Order
• The Remission Order came into effect on June 9, 2022, for an initial one-year period. The Remission Order temporarily remitted customs duties, anti-dumping duties, and countervailing duties applicable to all imports of Ukrainian goods. During the initial one-year period, industry associations of the supply-managed sectors raised concerns about supply-managed goods being included under the Order. On June 9, 2023, Finance Canada announced the Remission Order’s extension to June 9, 2024, and subsequently to June 9, 2025. The scope of goods covered was amended to exclude over-access supply-managed goods imported after June 9, 2023, unless such goods were already in transit to Canada. Finance Canada is currently exploring extending it again.

Market access: Negotiations for Ukraine access to the Canadian market

• On January 24, 2025, Canada approved Ukraine’s export program and the trial importation period for Ukraine to export apples to Canada began. The results of the trial importation period will be reviewed and will be considered complete after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has inspected consignments.

• In May 2024, Canada granted access to Ukraine to export processed egg products. Trade was able to commence in May 2024. To date, there has been one shipment of processed egg products imported from Ukraine.

• In April 2025, Canada and Ukraine finalized the negotiations for a certificate to export shell eggs from Ukraine to Canada. To date, no shipments of shell eggs have been imported from Ukraine.

• Ukraine has requested an expansion of the list of poultry plants authorized to export poultry products to Canada. The CFIA is planning to conduct a virtual audit in Ukraine as part of assessing one Ukrainian poultry meat establishment for eligibility.

• The Government of Canada remains committed to supporting the Ukrainian agriculture sector as a major contributor to global food security.

• To help Ukraine and its farmers, Canada provided $50 million for temporary grain storage and $2 million for lab equipment to facilitate export certificates.