The import of relatively cheap grain from Ukraine remains a sensitive subject for the EU. Five eastern member states believe that there is unfair competition and are calling on Brussels. In a new letter, it calls for measures, such as an import tax. In Ukraine itself, the cold weather in the first half of January did not cause any problems.
The March wheat contract on the Matif closed yesterday €0,75 higher at €216,75 per tonne. The stock exchange in Chicago was closed yesterday for Martin Luther King Day.
Five eastern member states want the EU to impose import duties on grain from Ukraine. The Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture released news about this yesterday. According to the Hungarian ministry, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia have sent a letter to the European Commission demanding measures against the import of cheaper agricultural products from Ukraine. The five signatories of the letter are among the six EU member states that produce significantly more wheat and corn than they consume themselves. That production surplus is essential for European food security and European strategic sovereignty, according to the signatories of the letter. Ukraine is nibbling away at the traditional export markets of these eastern member states.
“Brussels must therefore take measures that protect the markets of the countries bordering Ukraine while exploiting their full export potential,” the letter said. "One of the measures could be imposing import duties on the most sensitive agricultural products." Farmers in Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia have suffered 'significant damage' due to the removal of import duties and quotas and relaxed customs rules. The five Member States also ask the Commission to investigate whether production methods in Ukraine are in line with European rules.
Farmers protest
Romanian farmers and truck drivers protested yesterday at several border crossings into Ukraine. In addition to European intervention to protect the domestic market, there were demonstrations against high diesel prices and expensive insurance premiums. Reuters reports that transport to and from the port of Constanta has not been affected by the protests. That is one of the most important routes for Ukrainian grain to the EU.
The low temperatures in Ukraine in the first half of January did not cause any problems, according to APK Inform. "The weather conditions have no negative influence on the overwintering of the winter crops and the crops are in satisfactory condition," writes APK Inform. In Ukraine, 4,2 million hectares of winter wheat were sown last fall, compared to 4,5 million hectares last season. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture, the country could thresh up to 20 million tons of wheat next harvest. Last year the harvest amounted to 22 million tons. So far this month, Ukraine has exported 2,1 million tons of grain compared to 1,7 million tons in the same period last year.