Following the blockade of the port in Santander and protests in Brussels, the Spanish farmers’ union Unión de Uniones announced that it will hold protests with tractors across the country in winter if the government does not resolve the issue of grain imports from Ukraine, the association said.
Tension in the Spanish community is growing due to the lack of expected action by the government. The farmers’ indignation was caused by the statements of the Spanish Minister of Agriculture Luis Planas, who noted the high quality of Ukrainian grain and “reasonable prices” for it, and also stated that Spain needs to import this grain. He also suggested that the increase in livestock costs was the result of overestimated expectations of domestic grain producers.
In response to these statements, the Union de Uniones said it would take tractors to the streets in winter if the government and EU authorities do not change their position on imports from Ukraine.
According to trade union activists, the government should have long ago appealed to the European Commission to apply security mechanisms, in particular, to impose customs duties on wheat and corn imported by Spain from Ukraine.
“We can no longer sell grain below cost and buy more and more expensive feed,” said Luis Cortes, the union’s national coordinator, adding that farmers cannot continue to pay for all the political deals that are taking place in Europe.
The organization also demanded the introduction of reliable control over the quality of imported grain.
As reported, the Union of Farmers and Livestock Breeders of Spain, Unión de Uniones, held a protest in the port of Santander on Wednesday to demand that the issue of increasing grain imports from Ukraine be resolved. According to the Union, imports of Ukrainian grain in 2023 amounted to almost 8.4 million tons, and in the first half of 2024 it approached 6.5 million tons. This became a critical factor for local farmers and led to a 45% decrease in prices for national grain since May 2022.
