Six EU countries urged to regulate imports due to increased supplies from Ukraine

The delegation of Poland (also on behalf of the representatives of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia) at the meeting of the Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (a structure of the European Council) raised the issue of the impact of increased exports of products from Ukraine to Eastern European markets. According to representatives of the mentioned countries, the rapid increase in Ukrainian food imports does not meet the interests of agricultural producers in the EU countries.

As the document says (.pdf), prepared for today’s meeting, Eastern European countries are actively supporting Ukrainian food companies, including through the program of “solidarity routes”. It allows manufacturers from Ukraine to supply products to third countries through the states of Eastern Europe in a simplified manner.

“One of the consequences of the adoption of measures to facilitate the import of products from Ukraine … was a significant increase in the supply of Ukrainian products to the EU markets, especially on the border with Ukraine,” the Polish delegation said. A multiple increase in imports of Ukrainian products provoked a market anomaly that reduces the demand for goods from Eastern European farmers.

It is specified that in the period from January to November 2022, the import of Ukrainian corn to the countries of Eastern Europe increased from several thousand tons to several million. In particular, Polish apple producers have found themselves in a particularly difficult situation, as they find it difficult to compete with Ukrainian products that are actively filling the market, Russia and Belarus have imposed an embargo on their products, and due to the consequences of the energy crisis, production costs have increased significantly.

In connection with this situation, representatives of the EU countries propose to adopt the following measures:

• to compensate farmers for the damage provoked by the impact of events in Ukraine on the EU agricultural market;
• review EU agricultural policy (including in the area of ​​combined payments);
• focus “solidarity routes” exclusively on transit purposes and prevent Ukrainian products from entering the EU countries;
• create warehouses for temporary storage of imported food;
• review support measures for Ukrainian producers so that they do not interfere with the activities of Eastern European farmers.

On the consequences of the entry of Russian troops into Ukraine – in online broadcasts “b”.

Andrey Sapozhnikov