October 4, 2022

Recent European ministers meeting puts spotlight on Russia-Ukraine war's impact on agriculture

The consequences of the war in Ukraine on agriculture and logistics were discussed during a meeting of European agriculture ministers held last month.

During the meeting, ministers were joined by Ukrainian Minister for Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solskyi to discuss the current agricultural production and logistics situation in Ukraine, as well as the implementation of the EU solidarity lanes.

Ministers welcomed the latest update on harvest and agricultural yields, including the relatively stable level of cereal production. Overall, ministers welcomed the reopening of the Black Sea ports, but stressed that the current situation remains difficult both in Ukraine and globally.

Global food security is challenged by the Russian aggression and, therefore, EU member states are determined to continue in their assistance in transporting wheat, maize and other cereals to consumers in third countries.

The war in Ukraine affected both the production and export capacity of the country.

In 2021/22, Ukraine reached a record cereal and oilseeds crops harvest of 108 million tonnes. However, due to the war, the total grains area has decreased by 26.6 % compared to last year.

This year, Ukraine expects yields of cereals and oilseeds crops at the average level of the last six years, around 67 million tonnes. Considering that Ukraine exports more than half of its production, it still needs to export about 13 million tonnes of last year's harvest.

- EU Commission