The rockets hit in the early hours of the morning. Their goal: silos full of grain. On Wednesday, Russia shelled a key Ukraine port on the Danube. Experts estimate that 40,000 tons of wheat were destroyed.
Altogether, Vladimir Putin’s soldiers are said to have rendered more than 200,000 tons unusable since mid-July. Russia has started a war over Ukrainian farmers’ crops – and Europe is struggling to find the right answer.
Putin, it seems, wants to cut Ukraine off from the global food market. About three weeks ago, he canceled an agreement that allowed the country to export grain across the Black Sea.
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The Russian president even threatened to consider all ships calling at Ukrainian ports as military targets. And shortly after that, Russia destroyed the silos on the Danube.
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All this is also a problem for Brussels. Grain is Ukraine’s most important export commodity. But at the moment, wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from the country are not supposed to get into the EU just like that.
The commission imposed import restrictions in May and extended them in June, despite protestations that it wanted to help Kiev in the war against Russia. In five Eastern European countries – Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia – the agricultural products are currently not allowed to be imported. Only transit to other EU countries is allowed.
Eastern Europeans want to extend import restrictions
The restrictions are due to expire in mid-September. But the five Eastern European countries are fighting for another extension. And until at least the end of the year. This time, however, the Commission does not want to give in, as EU officials tell WELT. And that is likely to cause conflicts, especially with Poland.
“The measures will end on September 15,” says the Brussels authority. “We want to get the grain out of Ukraine, including via alternative routes to the Black Sea.”
At a meeting at the end of July, Poland informed the ministers of the other EU countries about the effects of Ukrainian imports on farmers. “But our efforts,” according to the Commission, “are concentrating on bringing Ukrainian agricultural products to the world markets.” In other words: Poland can complain as it likes, Brussels is sticking to the expiry of import restrictions.
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The dispute over the Ukrainian grain is dividing the EU, raising the question of how long the community of states will continue to show political solidarity with Kiev and how seriously they mean all their declarations of support.
According to the Commission, Ukraine exported around 32 million tons of grain via the Black Sea between May 2022 and June 2023. Overland through Eastern Europe, 41 million tons came into the world. Both routes are vital for the Ukrainian economy.
Poland keeps emphasizing that it is on the side of Ukraine. But the support apparently ends where the interests of their own farmers begin. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki recently announced on Twitter that if Brussels lifted import restrictions on Ukraine, he would resist.
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“According to the EU, we should open the borders on September 15 – we will not do that,” wrote Morawiecki. “The European Commission must take the perspective of Polish farmers.”
It would be a breach of EU trade rules. But that doesn’t seem to deter Morawiecki. He is determined to keep Ukrainian grain out of his country.
One reason for this could be that Poland is voting just a few weeks after the planned end of import restrictions. The current government, it seems, wants to secure the support of farmers.
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The conflict has been brewing for a long time. Eight years ago, after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Brussels allowed many Ukrainian products to be imported duty-free. Taxes on agricultural products were still imposed to protect European farmers.
Because they cannot compete with the prices of the Ukrainians. An example: Wheat from the Ukraine is around 20 percent cheaper than wheat from Poland.
Then last year, after Russia invaded again, Brussels also suspended tariffs on agricultural products. To support the economy of Ukraine and as a sign of solidarity. But soon after, Poland and several other Eastern European countries imposed unilateral import bans.
Grain often got stuck in border regions
All the wheat grains and sunflower seeds from Ukraine should actually not end up in the EU, but in the Middle East and Africa. But the transport to the European seaports by truck or train through Eastern Europe proved to be tricky.
Because the grain often got stuck in the border regions because of its low price. This spoiled the farmers’ business there, and many feared bankruptcy of their farms. They saw themselves as victims of a well-intentioned but harmful measure.
According to analysts, Ukraine’s grain exports to Poland were up 38-fold before the import restrictions, 54-fold to Hungary, and even 690-fold to Romania.
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But why is Ukrainian grain so much cheaper than EU grain? Experts cite significantly lower labor costs and more fertile soil. But they also say it could be because Ukraine doesn’t have to meet strict European production standards.
After the summer break, it should be clear how things will continue. The EU is in a dilemma: an extension of import restrictions would be a devastating political signal, but at the same time Brussels must take the concerns of Eastern European farmers seriously.
How to solve the problem? Maybe with money. Brussels has already promised farmers in Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia 100 million euros. However, according to a joint statement by the five countries, the subsidies were not enough. The EU has a reserve for agricultural crises of 450 million euros. So there is still leeway.
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