Ukraine's chicken giant buys big Spanish poultry and pork producer
The deal expands the presence of Kyiv-based MHP inside the EU, a company that already controls most of the war torn country's poultry production and has significantly increased exports to the bloc since the Russian invasion.
The buyout gives MHP control over Uvesa's core operations, the company said on Monday, with Uvesa president Antonio Sánchez hailing the acquisition as a way to ensure "total food security.'
MHP, which ranks among Ukraine's biggest employers, is also Europe's leading poultry producer but its growing European footprint hasn't come without controversy.
The company has received multi-million EU loans – meant to support Ukraine's farming sector – despite criticism over lax oversight on environmental and animal welfare standards, according to an investigation by Follow the Money.
In June, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development handed MHP an additional €40 million to boost energy security, ramp up production, and diversify operations to buffer the impact of Russia's war.
In 2024, wartime trade liberalisation with Ukraine was slammed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who, amid farmer protests in France, said that allowing unlimited chicken imports mostly benefit MHP's founder and CEO, Yuriy Kosyuk.
'Who's benefiting, three-quarters of the time? One group, owned by a billionaire,' Macron said. 'Frankly, we don't want to make this gentleman even richer (...) it doesn't actually help Ukraine.'
Quotas and contradictions
European producer groups say the rapid expansion of Ukrainian poultry firms like MHP signals 'substantial financial capacity.'
'In that context, the continued calls for exceptional trade preferences and financial support from international donors can appear contradictory,' Birthe Steenberg, secretary general of EU poultry lobby AVEC, told Euractiv.
A new EU-Ukraine trade agreement will raise the poultry export quota from 90,000 to 120,000 tonnes per year – short of full wartime liberalisation. It also includes a safeguard clause to suspend imports if they negatively impact the EU market – on economic or societal grounds – a provision viewed as controversial by Ukrainian producers.
Farmer protests could justify import bans under new EU-Ukraine deal
In practice, farmer protests could be cited as a 'societal difficulty' to trigger safeguard measures.
Still, AVEC welcomed that MHP will be subject to full EU rules in Spain, including on animal welfare, environmental protection, labour standards, and food safety.
'We fully support this alignment and consider it a step toward a more balanced and fair integration of Ukraine's poultry sector into the European market framework,' Steenberg added.
(jp)
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Major Ukrainian poultry firm MHP said on Monday that it had sealed a deal to acquire a 92% stake in Uvesa, one of Spain's leading poultry and pork producers, consolidating control of Europe's chicken market. The deal expands the presence of Kyiv-based MHP inside the EU, a company that already controls most of the war torn country's poultry production and has significantly increased exports to the bloc since the Russian invasion. The buyout gives MHP control over Uvesa's core operations, the company said on Monday, with Uvesa president Antonio Sánchez hailing the acquisition as a way to ensure "total food security.' MHP, which ranks among Ukraine's biggest employers, is also Europe's leading poultry producer but its growing European footprint hasn't come without controversy. The company has received multi-million EU loans – meant to support Ukraine's farming sector – despite criticism over lax oversight on environmental and animal welfare standards, according to an investigation by Follow the Money. In June, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development handed MHP an additional €40 million to boost energy security, ramp up production, and diversify operations to buffer the impact of Russia's war. In 2024, wartime trade liberalisation with Ukraine was slammed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who, amid farmer protests in France, said that allowing unlimited chicken imports mostly benefit MHP's founder and CEO, Yuriy Kosyuk. 'Who's benefiting, three-quarters of the time? One group, owned by a billionaire,' Macron said. 'Frankly, we don't want to make this gentleman even richer (...) it doesn't actually help Ukraine.' Quotas and contradictions European producer groups say the rapid expansion of Ukrainian poultry firms like MHP signals 'substantial financial capacity.' 'In that context, the continued calls for exceptional trade preferences and financial support from international donors can appear contradictory,' Birthe Steenberg, secretary general of EU poultry lobby AVEC, told Euractiv. A new EU-Ukraine trade agreement will raise the poultry export quota from 90,000 to 120,000 tonnes per year – short of full wartime liberalisation. It also includes a safeguard clause to suspend imports if they negatively impact the EU market – on economic or societal grounds – a provision viewed as controversial by Ukrainian producers. Farmer protests could justify import bans under new EU-Ukraine deal In practice, farmer protests could be cited as a 'societal difficulty' to trigger safeguard measures. Still, AVEC welcomed that MHP will be subject to full EU rules in Spain, including on animal welfare, environmental protection, labour standards, and food safety. 'We fully support this alignment and consider it a step toward a more balanced and fair integration of Ukraine's poultry sector into the European market framework,' Steenberg added. (jp)
