The EU countries have not yet been able to agree on the upper limit of duty-free imports of Ukrainian grain, as well as the need to extend restrictions to other products from Ukraine, the German edition of n-tv reported. “In the debate on the upper limit of duty-free imports of Ukrainian grain, the 27 EU countries continue to disagree,” the publication said.
The German media cite information from European diplomats who say that there is also no clear majority among member states on the European Parliament’s proposal to extend the restrictions on poultry meat, eggs and sugar from Ukraine proposed by the European Commission in January.
Polish Radio’s correspondent in Brussels, Beata Plomecka, also confirmed that the European Parliament, influenced by farmers’ protests across Europe, last week backed an amendment to the regulation on Autonomous Trade Measures submitted by Polish MEP Andrzej Galicki.
MEPs agreed to impose import restrictions on sensitive goods, notably honey, a range of cereals, poultry meat, chicken eggs and sugar.
Poland is also lobbying to tighten import quota requirements for Ukrainian sensitive agri-commodities by using data on Ukrainian imports not only for the years 2022-2023, but also 2021, before Russia’s full-scale invasion, when there were no massive shipments of agricultural products from Ukraine.
“However, this support is absent among member states. Only Poland and the ‘frontline’ countries are demanding that the demands of the European Parliament be taken into account. At best, most countries want to reduce from three weeks to two the Commission’s mandate to impose a ban on EU imports of products whose imports destabilize the market situation,” Polish Radio stressed.” Negotiations on a possible restriction of imports of Ukrainian agricultural products in the European Council are scheduled for Tuesday evening.
As reported, in many EU countries since January 2024 there have been mass protests of farmers, who express dissatisfaction with the “green” course of the European Commission and the rise in the price of material and technical resources. One of their demands is to strengthen control over alleged unfair competition from Ukraine. Farmers claim that Ukrainian products that were once destined for Africa or the Middle East now remain in Europe, undermining the position of local producers. They also point out that Ukrainian producers are not subject to the EU’s higher environmental and social standards.
The first ship with 25 thousand tons of Ukrainian grain has arrived to Ethiopia within the humanitarian program “Grain from Ukraine” of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyi, the press service of the President said.
“The first ship in the framework of the Ukrainian humanitarian program “Grain from Ukraine” on December 3 arrived in Ethiopia, delivering 25 thousand tons of Ukrainian wheat to the port of Dorale,” – said in the message.
Zelensky announced this program on November 15 during the G20 summit.
The second vessel, the loading of which is completing in the Ukrainian port of Chernomorsk, will go to Ethiopia next week with 30 thousand tons of wheat on board.
The third vessel will deliver 25 thousand tons of humanitarian wheat to Somalia (loading in Odessa port).
“In total, in the framework of the humanitarian initiative “Grain from Ukraine” our state plans to send more than 60 ships to Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Congo, Kenya, Yemen, etc.,” – said in the message.
It is noted that more than $180 mln was attracted for implementation of this program.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the implementation of the grain initiative to export Ukrainian grain made it possible to reduce the severity of the food crisis.
“It is very important that the grain export initiative yields results. Since the beginning of its implementation, 16 vessels with grain for seven countries on three continents have already left Ukrainian ports. This is Europe, Asia, Africa,” he said in a traditional video message on Saturday.
According to him, “almost half a million tons of agricultural products are on board: corn, wheat, sunflower oil, soybeans and other goods that are absolutely necessary on the world market.”
“This has already made it possible to reduce the acuteness of the food crisis, gave some hope for peace to the countries that consume our agricultural products. And in the future, it can help to completely remove the food crisis from the global agenda,” he said.
Of course, the president noted, “if the partners ensure the implementation of the safe part of the initiative and prevent Russian provocations and terror at sea or against our ports.”
Zelensky noted that “the first ship has already arrived for loading under the UN World Food Program – this is the supply of grain, in particular, for Ethiopia, where the situation with hunger is especially severe. Now the vessel is being prepared for departure from the Yuzhny port.
According to him, “in less than two weeks, our three ports – Odessa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny – managed to export such a volume that is equal to all agricultural exports by road in July and more than two-thirds of exports by rail over the past month” .
“These are jobs for our people, these are the funds that are needed for our sowing next year, and this is our state budget revenues. Increasing economic activity is an indispensable element on the path to victory,” the president said.
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink had a “valuable discussion” with Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov on negotiations with UN and Turkey on establishing grain transport corridors through the Black Sea.
“Ukraine is ready to export grain to countries in need; the United States continues engaging with partners to provide safe passage for grain,” she said on Twitter on Saturday following the discussion.
In addition, Brink met with Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko. “So proud to call the beautiful city of Kyiv our home… With victory, we can’t wait to realize Kyiv’s future as a great European capital,” the U.S. Ambassador said.
The port of Constanta (Romania) has begun using a floating crane to reload crops arriving along the Danube River on barges from Ukraine onto commercial ships for further shipment to third countries.
This will eliminate the need to reload grain to port granaries from the logistics chain and will increase the cargo flow processed by the port, according to the website of the Bulgarian publication Maritime.bg.
“Transport Trade Services (TTS) has launched a new comprehensive logistics project that provides a significant increase in cargo traffic from Ukraine, transported from the river ports of Reni and Izmail, and their subsequent loading onto commercial sea vessels in the port of Constanta,” the publication’s website states.
According to him, Ukrainian grain cargoes will be reloaded by a floating crane in the deep-water part of the port of Constanta directly from barges arriving by river transport to commercial vessels.
According to the publication, the first ship loaded according to the new logistics model was the Lausanne motor ship (the flag of Sierra Leone), which received 31,000 tons of grain from Ukraine.
As reported, due to the congestion of logistics routes in the Sulina Canal (Romania), Ukrainian exporters of agricultural products are forced to wait in line for loading grain carriers for 10 days or more, which in total causes them $500,000 in losses per day.
Ukrainian Minister of Agropolitics Mykola Solsky said that the logistics of Ukrainian agricultural products through Romania could become more complicated and slow down in June, when a new crop of Romanian, Serbian, Hungarian and Bulgarian winter wheat and barley will begin to arrive at the seaports of this country and will create competition for supplies from Ukraine.
German Minister of Agriculture Cem Ozdemir called for thinking about creating not temporary, but permanent alternative routes for the export of grain from Ukrainian territory, the EFE agency reports on Friday.
“The Black Sea cannot be considered as a safe route for Ukraine in the long term, even after the end of hostilities,” the minister suggested at a press conference. For this reason, according to the minister, “it is necessary to look for one or more permanent alternative routes.”
EFE notes that Ozdemir is skeptical about the chances of success in negotiations with the Russian Federation on the export of grain from Ukrainian ports.
