By Tony Goodger, AIMS
It is important to say at the outset that like, I believe, the vast majority of UK citizens I have been appalled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
As a trade association, AIMS reached out to a similar organisation in Ukraine during the first months of the war and we have remained in monthly contact with them ever since.
In terms of their meat and poultry processing industry they tell me that 16 sites have either been bombed out or are now in the hands of the Russians. These are in the main pig businesses but do also include poultry and egg businesses.
It is fair to say that we are very supportive of Ukraine as a country and in the main of the support that the UK government has provided them in terms of the establishment of the “coalition of the willing”, training their army and providing cash for weapons to defend their country and it’s citizens.
But I am also troubled by one piece of support, funded solely by the UK tax payer and which could have the unintended consequence of further undermining the viability of our poultry and egg sectors.
Looking at the UK support to Ukraine: factsheet published earlier this month it says that “BII will provide €30 million for MHP”.
Apparently, this support package was confirmed back in the summer with the announcement made within a government press release, “British investment boost in Ukraine to benefit both countries”.
The press release says of MHP that they are a leading agribusiness employing over 30,000 people with more than 40% being women. It goes on to say that “the loan will help them to safeguard jobs and boost resilience in the food and agriculture sectors during Russia’s full-scale invasion. MHP, Ukraine’s largest poultry and processed meat producer, exports to over 70 countries.”
Call me picky but I can’t see any benefit here for the UK.
I have looked at the British International Investment (BII) website and note that they “are a trusted investment partner to businesses in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean”.
I accept that geography teaching is maybe not as it should be here but even I know that Ukraine isn’t in African, Asia or the Caribbean”.
So, who are BII? Their website is not that clear however an AI enabled search helped me to pinpoint that they are overseen by the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) who are the sole shareholder. This means that their funding is from UK taxpayers.
It is my view that the €30million bung to MHP, an independent and very wealthy business, who are already exporting low cost poultry and eggs into the UK, and who have attracted huge amounts of investment since the war started from, among others, the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund as well as from large global poultry businesses.
To me this looks to be more about a government department wishing to get in on the aid-action to provide a boost for Ukraine’s economy whilst providing little benefit to the UK’s and none whatsoever to our poultry and egg industries.
I have seen pictures from the Lviv region of Ukraine of massive egg production sites being constructed with inward investment from which their output will only be heading in one direction, out of Ukraine and into markets such as the UK at a time when our own planning system is under almost continuous pressure from foreign funded activists and their Pringle wearing cardboard sign bearing hangers on.
At a time when the government’s focus should be on UK economic growth they appear to be providing the tools for expansion to our competitors and not targeting funding to where it can be better used.