anger running through Eastern European areasHaving vetoed the entry of Ukrainian grain into their markets by the governments of Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, this has sparked a conflict within the European Union and threatens to undermine solid support for Kiev among Twenty-seven countries. The trigger is no one else tariff exemption that the EU gave to the US last summer. ukrainian cereals To support its battered economy amid Russian military aggression and currently, according to Eastern European farmers crushing prices. In Spain, the situation is less urgent. The countryside needs these imports to meet demand, but the uncontrolled arrival of Ukrainian grains grain prices, according to referenced sources.
Spain later Chinese HE top grain importing country Ukraine since the war began. Or to be more precise, because United Nations And Türkiye reached an agreement with him last July. Russia To ensure access of Ukrainian grain to international markets through a secure corridor through Black SeaAn agreement was reached to mitigate food crisis the global scope caused by the conflict. Since then Spain has imported 4.9 million tons cereal, too much wheat, Sweetcorn And barley like sunflower oilTürkiye follows with 3 million tons.
“Spain is not hurting the arrival of Ukrainian grains because we don’t have enough grain for our market. But it’s also not fair to come duty free Because drive down prices José Roales, COAG’s national director of herbaceous crops, said that our producers Coordinator of Farmers and Farmers Organizations. In a normal year, the Spanish market imports approximately. half the grains you eatdedicated to both food production similar thinking about livestock. Prices have softened in recent months and have largely returned to pre-war levels.
Impact on the price of Spanish cereal
The importing country, Spain, does not mark grain prices, a market traditionally exposed to grain prices. the ups and downs of speculation. “If Ukrainian grain is worth 200 euros, you cannot sell Spanish grain for 205 euros. You have to sell it for the same price,” says ACCOE general secretary José Manuel Álvarez. Cereals and Oilseeds Chamber of Commercerepresents traders in the industry. Many factors affect its price, but also Small Farmers and Farmers Union (UPA) has an impact on Spanish grain prices as a result preferential treatment In Brussels, it was given to Ukrainian grain. “Obviously it gets noticed. UPA Secretary of International Affairs, José Manuel Roche, confirmed that prices in the markets where the grains are listed have dropped significantly, leading to a situation of concern.
“We fully agree that Ukraine should be supported, but Ukraine’s grains cannot fill our markets without Ukraine.” same fees and requirements What is requested from other countries outside the EU,” he added in a phone call.
effect of drought
However, there seems to be no unity in the industry on this issue. First of all, because the interests grain producers, high-price farmers, and those who do the opposite so as not to increase the cost of feeding their flocks. While the price of feed usually falls when the price of grain falls, speculation sometimes prevents the effect from being correlated, according to sources consulted. “The opposite of what happens to us happens Poland. It is much better that the non-scheduled Ukraine tariff comes into play,” said Rosa Pruna, head of ASAJA in Catalonia. Young Farmers Agricultural AssociationThe most important of the peninsula. “We are very worried because something very strange is happening. drought is terrible and now we just needed some countries to oppose EU entry. Ukrainian grain”.
Pruna is not exaggerating. A recent COAG report, Drought suffocates 60% of Spanish countryside and will produce “Irreversible Losses” inside 3.5 million hectares of rain-fed grain. Inside Estremadura, Andalusia, Castile la Mancha And Murcia wheat and barley crops are already considered lost, as in the driest parts of the world. Catalonia, Aragon And Castile and Leon, according to the same organization. “Catalonia will not be able to collect even half of what it used to collect, which will mean that many animals will have to be killed because the cost of feeding them is too high. This will be passed on to the consumer”, adds Pruna from ASAJA.
While the industry does not seem to have agreed on a position to hand it over to the Government at this time, it insists that having Ukrainian grain in the rural areas of the peninsula remains a priority. “Spain cannot afford to oppose the entry of non-tariff Ukrainian grain. That would be suicide. He needs the cereal to keep coming,” she says. BILL.
Currently, the EU, Poland or Hungary ban on Ukrainian imports “unacceptable”While Minister of Agriculture, Luis PlanasHe said on Tuesday he hopes Brussels will respond to the needs of Eastern European farmers without preventing Ukrainian grain from crossing its borders.