May 2, 2023

EU Commission meets member state officials to address issue linked to redirection of Ukraine's cereal, oilseed exports

European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski met with Ukrainian officials and representatives of five EU member states which border Ukraine and are affected by the increase in Ukrainian agricultural imports.

These EU states are Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania.

The war in Ukraine led to changes in logistical routes for grain and oilseed exports from the country and the establishment of EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes. The changes in logistic routes led to higher transport costs for Ukrainian cereals and oilseeds to reach their traditional markets, resulting in a redirection of exports to the EU market. This increase in imports affected local farmers in the member states where the main Solidarity Lanes were established. In certain regions of the EU, additional imports have led to oversupply, a reduction in local prices, or saturation of logistics chains.

During the meeting, the EU's comprehensive proposals were introduced to address the concerns expressed by the member states regarding the worsening situation for producers regarding specific products. This proposed commission package includes a second tranche of agricultural financial support to affected farmers, exceptional safeguard measures on key products and measures to facilitate the transit of Ukrainian grain exports via the Solidarity Lanes. The commission's proposed package is subject to member states lifting their unilateral measures.

The commission underlined the importance of rapidly following a common EU approach, rather than unilateral solutions to avoid multiple bans and solutions which put the internal market at risk.

- European Commission