FIVE EU NATIONS SEEK UKRAINIAN GRAIN IMPORT DUTIES
Five eastern countries of the European Union (EU) are asking for import duties to be imposed on Ukrainian grains, saying an overabundance of cheaper agricultural products from Ukraine is eating into their export markets, Reuters reported, citing Hungary’s agricultural ministry. The farm ministers of Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia sent a letter to the European Commission requesting action. The five countries are among six EU member states that produce more wheat and maize than they need, which is key for European food safety and strategic sovereignty, nations’ ministers said.
Grain exports have been a source of tension between Ukraine and its EU neighbors as Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia became alternative transit routes for Ukrainian grain to help offset slower exports via Ukraine’s Black Sea ports after the Russian invasion in 2022. Farmers in Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia “have suffered significant damages” since the EU suspended import quotas and customs on grain from Ukraine last year, they said.
Poland, Slovakia and Hungary announced restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports last September after the European Commission decided not to extend a ban on imports into Ukraine’s five EU neighbors. All three bans only apply to domestic imports and do not affect transit to onward markets. Ukraine responded by complaining to the World Trade Organization against the three countries, while other EU members criticized the unilateral moves. Ukraine officials expect a harvest of 79 million tonnes of grain and oilseeds in 2023-24 with an exportable surplus of 50 million tonnes.
(Link: WorldGrain)
