A draft cabinet resolution on this has been posted on the official web site of the ministry, reports Interfax.

According to an explanatory note on the document, in 2010 Ukraine imported 148,400 tonnes of poultry and by-product poultry, 102,000 tonnes of pork and 38,700 tonnes of lard and poultry fat. According to the State Veterinary and Biosecurity Service, mainly low-quality food was imported to Ukraine. The authors of the draft say that the situation is difficult, as Euro-zone countries subsidise meat and poultry production and exports, so European producers have a chance to export their products at prices that are lower than prices on the Ukrainian market.

"Imports of meat could be a destabilising factor in the development of Ukrainian cattle breeding, which in turn threatens the food security of the country," read the note.

The draft also includes the introduction of licensing of imports of insecticides (apart from veterinary medicine), fungicides, herbicide, plant growth-regulating agents and other similar agents.