The EU Is Concerned About Excessive Imports of Grain and Oilseeds From Ukraine

“Corridors of Solidarity” for Ukraine was a very successful initiative

The “corridors of solidarity” created by the EU on the borders with Ukraine made it possible to unblock agricultural exports from Ukraine to foreign markets. At the same time they created problems for local farmers, especially in border countries, who began to experience difficulties in marketing their own products. This encourages the European Commission to look for a way to protect European producers, said Janusz Wojciechowski, European Commissioner for Agriculture.

At the beginning of Russian aggression, import from Ukraine was almost completely blocked and amounted to no more than 200 thousand tons of agricultural products per month. Now there is a significant increase in imports to the EU from Ukraine compared to the pre-war period.

For example, grain imports from Ukraine to the EU in 2021 amounted to 287 thousand tons, in 2022 this figure increased to 2.849 million tons. Regarding corn, before the war, 7.309 million tons were supplied from Ukraine to the EU, in 2022 this volume increased to 12.012 million tons. The same applies to rapeseed and sunflower. Before the war, the EU imported 25 thousand tons of sunflower seeds, and in 2022 the figure for such imports increased to 1.855 million tons.

The other side of the “Corridors of Solidarity” for Ukraine

According to Janusz Wojciechowski, increased import from Ukraine created some problems in the border countries. For example, imports of Ukrainian sunflower seeds to Bulgaria increased from about 3 thousand tons in 2021 to 892 thousand tons in 2022. A huge increase in Ukrainian exports of wheat, rapeseed, corn and other crops is observed in countries such as Romania, Hungary , Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia.

This is not a problem for the entire European Union. But this is a regional problem, a problem for border countries. On the one hand, this is the success of the “corridors of solidarity”. On the other hand, appeared the problems of local farmers who are now facing difficulties in selling their own products.

EU countries have to search for solutions to support their farmers

it must be emphasized that none of the member countries put forward initiatives to reduce or create any barriers to Ukrainian agricultural exports. At the same time, EU countries have begun to look for ways to support European farmers in this emergency.

A possible tool is to use the EU crisis reserve to support farmers. J. Wojciechowski explained that not all member countries supported such a proposal, but most of them were not opposed to it. This is precisely the reason why they will take very seriously the possibility of using the crisis reserve for farmers in trouble. This proposal will be analysed and submitted for consideration by the Board of the European Commission.

Import/Export Statistics

Please click to reach our marketplace

Related posts:

The Areas Under Winter Crops in Ukraine Have Sharply Decreased in Ukraine The Ukrainian Ports of the Danube Increased the Transshipment of Grain by 42 Times Grain Corridor: Russia Delays the Passage of 175 Vessels India: Export Demand for Wheat, Corn, and Spices Has Shot Up India: Autumn crops Production Estimate – 150.50 MT Till date, total of 8,702 projects have been sanctioned Ukraine Crop: By December 1, Ukraine has harvested almost 85 million tons of grains. India’s foodgrain production pegged record in 2020-21 Gift for Indian farmers