The Slovak agricultural sector achieved its highest-ever profit of €346.5 million in 2022, but farmers still worry about a ‘definitive end’ of their business unless the government keeps Ukrainian grain off its territory.
Farmers’ profits almost doubled compared to 2021 numbers and almost tripled when looking at the five-year average from 2017-2021. Revenue from plant products rose by 16% in the first year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but farmers remain worried about the future of their business.
“We are a buffer country directly adjacent to Ukraine, and one of our key competitive advantages is grain production. Losing this advantage could spell the definitive end of the Slovak agro-sector,” says Emil Macho, the chairman of the Slovak Chamber of Agriculture and Food, while praising the government’s decision to extend the import ban on wheat, maise, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds from Ukraine.
The ban, in place since April, enjoys strong support from the current political parties in Slovakia, which will go head-on in a snap election on September 30, signalling that the future government will likely keep it in place.
Slovakia’s farmers will also be supported by a €15.7 million aid package, a third of which will be supplied by the EU’s agricultural reserve fund.
In response to the ongoing import ban, Ukraine has filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary, all of which have extended the embargo. Slovak Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Jozef Bíreš intends to engage in discussions with his Ukrainian counterpart to address trade barriers and explore potential resolutions online.
“I want to reach a very fair agreement with my Ukrainian colleague so that even the hints of some kind of legal action or restrictions on bilateral trade are ruled out,” Bíreš said, adding that Slovakia would need to “test” any licensing system for imported grain, which Ukraine touted as a compromise solution.
(Barbara Zmušková | Euractiv.sk)
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