Tridge 요약
Due to the success of the "solidarity routes" for the export of Ukrainian grain to the EU, the flow increased from thousands to several million tons. Local farmers faced food surpluses and losses. Some of them will pay compensation
The European Commission will provide €56 million to help farmers in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria affected by increased agricultural exports from Ukraine, said the Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski, writes Bloomberg.
“We are seeing an increase in supplies, a huge increase in imports for border countries,” he said.
Bulgaria and Poland will receive €16 million and €30 million each, respectively, due to the fact that the combination of their domestic production and imports from Ukraine exceeded the average five years before the Russian military operation, Romania decided to allocate €10 million, as it became a hub for grain exported from Ukraine to Europe along the "routes of solidarity".
Hungary and Slovakia also faced an increase in Ukrainian grain imports, but they did not receive assistance, as their combined imports and domestic production did not exceed the average for the five years before the hostilities.
The EU and Ukraine signed a comprehensive and deep free trade area agreement in 2016 that suspended duties and tariffs on about half of Ukraine's agricultural products. The export from Ukraine to the EU of the rest of the products was eased last May for one year as part of the "routes of solidarity" - these measures were taken by Europe to stimulate the economy of the state and gradually integrate Ukraine into the internal market of the European Union.
Such measures have led to the fact that food imports have increased significantly over the past year - from several thousand to several million tons. For example, in November 2021, 6 thousand tons of Ukrainian corn were imported to Poland, a year later - 1637.6 thousand tons, followed from the data of the European Council. At the same time, Polish farmers faced an embargo on supplies to Belarus and limited access to the Egyptian market, the document said, and goods from this country do not reach the states of Western Europe that are in need of Ukrainian goods.
“There are now more and more indications that, if the increase [in production from Ukraine] is not limited, this could cause serious difficulties for EU producers in the agricultural sector,” the European Council document says.
At the end of January, delegations from European countries offered to pay compensation to farmers; “sealing” supply routes from Ukraine so that products do not harm local farmers, but are sent in transit to markets that need it; help Kyiv in ways that would not interfere with the agricultural sector of the EU, etc. The delegates separately emphasized that they continue to support Ukraine in the conflict with Russia.
“No one predicted this level of success when the ‘solidarity routes’ were launched, but of course it came at a cost in terms of disrupting local trade in neighboring countries,” said Michael Scannel, deputy head of the European Commission, in early 2023.