Romania relies on sugar imports. Rising sugar prices have prompted the Romanian government to take extraordinary measures and look for ways to buy sugar from Ukraine.
From 5.06.2023 to 15.09.2023, the Ukrainian government has imposed an export ban on sugar. The Ukrainian government fears a shortage in the sugar sector. The Ukrainian government announced the export ban months before it came into effect, and it was clear to many experts and market participants that there would be rising prices in the EU at the time the export ban was implemented.
Many traders were already making efforts to purchase and store sugar before 05.06. As border crossings in Poland and Hungary were blocked, many trucks from Ukrainian sugar factories did not reach their destination in the EU and there were kilometer-long traffic jams in front of the EU border. Triggered by protests from farmers and companies, which are under severe price pressure due to the massive cheap offers from Ukraine, Romania protested.
Romania has no significant sugar production itself and therefore relies on imports and is now trying to buy sugar from the Ukrainian government. How the Ukrainian government responds will be interesting to see. Not long ago, Romania demanded that the EU ban imports of raw materials from Ukraine to protect domestic producers.
The example of Romania shows that sugar is increasingly becoming a scarce commodity in the EU.
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