Visegrad farmers ask EU to reintroduce tariffs on Ukrainian grain

Imports of cheap Ukrainian grain are causing significant problems for farmers in the Visegrad Four, and the only effective solution is to reintroduce import tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian agri-commodities, according to the Visegrad countries’ national agri-food associations.

Farmers in the Visegrad countries currently have millions of tonnes of old crop grain in storage which they cannot sell at profitable prices, said Matej Korpáš from the press department of the Slovak Chamber of Agriculture and Food (SPPK) after the meeting of the associations in Brno on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the new harvest is already “around the corner.”

Visegrad agri-food associations, together with representatives of farmers organisations from Croatia and Romania, in an appeal to the European Commission, call for the urgent renewal of import duties and quotas on agri-food products.

At the same time, they add that the rules can only be abolished after Ukraine becomes a member of the EU with all the applicable rights and rules.

“The Union’s intention was certainly correct, but practice has gradually put our farmers in a situation they can hardly cope with. If we really do not want to destroy our agri-food industry, we need to adopt fundamental EU-wide solutions to protect domestic producers,” said SPPK’s head Michal Maco.

“But if the EU decides that Ukraine will meet Europe’s food needs, then Ukraine must be implemented into the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, but with all the consequences and standards that apply here today,” he added.

According to Mach, after the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, the EU quickly agreed to liberalise trade with Ukraine. This included the abolition of import tariffs and quotas on sensitive agricultural commodities that were only supposed to pass through the territory of the Slovak Republic to third countries.

Growers from Ukraine do not have to comply with strict EU standards on pesticide limits, fertilisers, and good farming practices.

(Michal Hudec | EURACTIV.sk)