European Commission Proposes Support for Farmers Affected By Ukrainian Grain Transports

The European Commission has proposed measures for wheat, maize, sunflower seed, and rape seed from Ukraine after a joint complaint from five EU countries -- Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia -- over a drop in prices on local markets because of the influx from Ukraine.

The five countries became transit routes for Ukrainian grains that could not be exported by sea because of Russia's invasion, but delays in moving the grains have caused a glut of cheap imports, prompting complaints from farmers and bans on the grains by some countries.

The situation forced the European Union to seek a solution, and on April 19 European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis discussed the measures with ministers from the five countries as well as with their Ukrainian counterpart, the European Commission said in a news release.

An EU official quoted by Reuters said the proposal would only allow the grains to enter the five countries from Ukraine if they were to be exported to other EU members or to the rest of the world. The measure would last only until the end of June.

Romanian Agriculture Minister Petre Daea ​told Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskiy that ​Romania will implement additional security measures for goods transiting Romania's territory to third countries.

The European Commission has proposed that the commodities be either sealed or monitored by the Global Positioning System (GPS) to ensure that they are not opened during transit and therefore should not affect the markets in the states they pass through.

The commission's proposal, which also includes a second tranche of agricultural financial support, is subject to the countries lifting unilateral measures, the commission said.

Separately, the European Commission plans an investigation into whether measures are required for other sensitive agricultural products.

Bulgaria announced earlier on April 19 that it will temporarily ban the import of grain, milk, meat, and other food products from Ukraine, following steps taken by Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia.