Eastern European countries complained about the oversupply of Ukrainian grain

The sharply increased supply of Ukrainian grain to the EU markets may lead to serious difficulties for European agricultural producers, especially in countries neighboring Ukraine. This is stated in reportprepared by the representatives of Poland and presented also on behalf of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.

The document published on the website of the Council of Europe notes that against the backdrop of Russia’s special operation, the countries listed above are helping Ukraine export Ukrainian agricultural products, primarily grain, to third countries facing food security risks. Thus, the measures of border control of agri-food products from Ukraine were facilitated, and customs duties were canceled.

As a result, deliveries of Ukrainian products to neighboring countries increased thousands of times in some cases, which led to overcrowding of warehouses and difficulties for local producers. For example, part of Ukrainian grain goes to local processors, which leads to a decrease in demand for grain from local farmers. In addition, export supplies of Ukrainian corn are difficult due to their unprofitability.

In light of this situation, the neighboring countries of Ukraine call on the European Commission to provide a flexible approach to the implementation of the EU common agricultural policy, as well as to block the “paths of solidarity” so that Ukrainian agricultural products pass through the EU member states and reach destination markets without lingering on the domestic market EU.

Polish Minister of Agriculture Henryk Kowalczyk, who presented the position of these countries at a meeting in the Council of Europe, also mentioned the possibility of using part of the crisis reserve for agriculture, amounting to 500 million euros. “The issue of the reserve is being approached with caution, as it is now the beginning of the year and it is not clear what could happen. But no one expressed a clear protest, only certain doubts were expressed, – leads his words TASS.

Russia’s special operation in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin called it the protection of the inhabitants of Donbass, as well as the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, as its goals. In response, Western countries imposed large-scale sanctions against Russia and began to provide military assistance to Ukraine. On July 22, representatives of Turkey and the UN signed separate agreements with representatives of Russia and Ukraine on the export of Ukrainian grain, as well as on assistance in the export of Russian grain and fertilizers. As Moscow and Ankara later noted, only a small part of Ukrainian grain goes to the poorest countries.