Leaders of five EU members that help transit Ukrainian agricultural products to third-world countries on Friday called for EU action against flooding caused by goods failing to reach their destinations, prices on theirs own markets and annoyed the farmers.
Poland, Romania and other countries in the region stepped in to help transit after Russia blocked traditional routes when it invaded Ukraine 13 months ago. The EU, which borders Ukraine, has waived tariffs and import quotas to ease transport – including through Romania and Bulgaria – to non-EU markets that had been counting on the supplies.
But farmers in the transit countries say much of Ukraine’s produce – particularly grain – remains, flooding their own markets and driving down prices while fertilizer and energy costs soar.
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In a letter Friday to the European Commission and its Chair, Ursula von der Leyen, the prime ministers of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria said channels designed to get Ukrainian products to destinations are not working as expected.
They called on the EU executive to consider urgently purchasing the surplus products by the 27-strong bloc and allocating funds for the rapid development of transport and storage infrastructure.
Five Eastern European EU Member States have asked the Commission to address the saturation of the Ukrainian market for produce and its economic impact. (Fox News)
Above all, they said there was an unprecedented influx of “cereals, oilseeds, eggs, poultry, sugar, apple juice, apples, berries, flour, honey and pasta”.
“We call on the Commission to examine the possibility of buying the surplus grain from Member States (bordering Ukraine) on humanitarian grounds,” the prime ministers said in their letter.
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“We also renew our call for financial support from the EU for the needs of faster development of transport infrastructures,” they said.
Their governments are facing pressure and protests from farmers concerned about falling prices and lack of storage for this year’s harvest due to the oversupply of Ukrainian produce. Bulgarian farmers staged border crossing blockades this week, while Poland’s agriculture minister pledged financial and infrastructure help on Wednesday after hours of heated talks with farmers’ unions.
Last week Brussels offered affected farmers a total of 56.3 million euros ($61 million) in compensation, of which Bulgaria would receive 16.7 million and Poland nearly 30 million – sums protesters and the governments say are insufficient.
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EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said state and EU aid now available to Polish farmers hit by the inflow from Ukraine will exceed 210 million euros ($228 million). , including about 128 million euros from state coffers.
Source : www.foxnews.com