Six Eastern European EU countries have once again requested support from the European Commission to address market disruptions caused by Ukrainian agricultural exports. These exports largely pass through their territory, since the EU suspended most import tariffs on Ukrainian agricultural products last year.
No EU country wants to reintroduce customs duties or quotas, as became clear last Monday at the Agriculture Council meeting, but farmers affected in border regions must still be assisted.
Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic complain that many cheaper Ukrainian agricultural products are entering their markets. As a result, their own farmers are unable to sell their products.
The six countries demand that Ukrainian grains and oilseeds be transported directly to their final destinations in third countries via transit routes. Wojciechowski reported that not only wheat, corn, and oilseeds from Ukraine are causing oversupply.
There are also problems in the poultry market. Imports are no longer limited to 90,000 tons per year through a quota and nearly doubled last year. France in particular is complaining about this. In Ukraine, one company dominates about 70 percent of poultry production.
The European Commission is considering opening the crisis reserve from the EU agricultural budget. Smaller payments could have a significant effect on the predominantly local problems, said Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski.
Storage support is a tool to relieve market pressure in the short term. In this case, not all farmers in all EU countries receive a small amount, but a part of the crisis reserve is targetedly deployed.