Trade in raw materials has been severely affected by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The EU has continued to pledge political and economic support to Ukraine and has taken measures to facilitate trade and market access for Ukrainian products. Since the Russian invasion, the Union has waived quotas and tariffs to support Ukraine.
European Farmer Protests: Causes and Implications
In Europe, farmers are protesting in many member states. At any moment you can see tractors blocking roads and angry farmers. They are protesting against rising costs, taxes, strict environmental regulations and cheap food imports. Particularly in the Member States bordering Ukraine, the protests are mainly due to the large quantities of agricultural products imported from Ukraine. Farmers claim, among other things, that the European agricultural sector is becoming uncompetitive due to cheap imports from Ukraine and that the European Union, while wanting to help Ukraine, is ignoring and desperately abandoning its own farmers.
Poland’s agricultural dilemma
In Poland in particular, farmers are protesting against Ukrainian agricultural products. On the other hand, Poland has more than tripled its fertilizer imports from Russia. And this is in an EU where the so-called sanctions against Russia, the occupying power, are strictly enforced. Farmer.pl notes that according to the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics (IERiGŻ), Poland significantly increased its fertilizer imports from Russia in the third quarter of 2023 and Russia is the largest exporter of nitrogen fertilizer to Poland. Germany is the second largest fertilizer supplier to Poland.
There is a dilemma here. While Warsaw says it supports Ukraine, Polish farmers believe that cheap Ukrainian grain hurts EU agriculture, and they prefer Russian fertilizer to European fertilizer. Polish farmers also receive the highest subsidies in the EU.
EU’s increased grain imports from Russia
Russia has also increased its grain exports to the EU tenfold. In the 2023/24 season, the EU bought 2.23 million tonnes of grain, compared to 968 thousand tonnes in the previous season, according to Eurostat data. The main buyers are Spain and Italy.
Will sales of Polish products increase if Ukrainian grain is blocked?
Polish farmers also expect their sales to increase if Ukrainian grain can no longer cross their borders into the EU. However, as mentioned above, this is not the case. If Ukrainian grain is blocked, purchases of Russian grain will increase.
Brussels needs to do something about this. If it really wants to help Ukraine, it must extend the sanctions against Russia. All the money Russia earns from European companies goes back to Ukraine in the form of bullets and bombs. EU companies buy fertilizer and wheat from Russia because they can. Perhaps Brussels should think about banning the purchase of fertilizer and wheat from Russia.