EU to discuss subsidizing transport for Ukraine’s grain

The European Union should consider using its funds to support the cost of transiting Ukrainian grain through its member states, Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said Tuesday. 

“I will present this position in the commission that we should find a solution on how to support the transport costs using the EU money,” he told reporters in Brussels, adding that it’s not yet clear where the funding would come from.

Wojciechowski met agriculture ministers from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria on the sidelines of an EU ministers meeting earlier on Tuesday to discuss the transit of Ukrainian grain through their territories. 

The five nations secured a temporary ban on the sale of Ukrainian grain until mid-September, following complaints from domestic farmers about a destructive impact on their business. They’re seeking to extend that ban, which doesn’t apply to goods transiting their territory. 

Supporting the cost of transit is a matter of urgency, Wojciechowski said, as the higher costs of land routes is making them less attractive. Without some changes, he said, “Russia will be the beneficiary of the situation because it will be cheaper than to pay for the grain from Ukraine transported to the Baltic ports, the cost of this operation will be always higher than what Russia can offer on the global market.”

Ukraine is being forced to use alternative export routes by land and river, after Russia last week exited the deal that allowed it to ship by sea. Moscow has also been targeting some of Ukraine’s key port infrastructure.

Russia is currently exporting record volumes of wheat, after a bumper harvest. 

Wojciechowski noted that the five-country ban on grain purchases from Ukraine expires on Sept. 15, and that data will need to be assessed before taking a decision on any next steps.

Poland said last week that it won’t allow imports of Ukrainian grain when the current ban expires and urged Brussels to extend restrictions until year-end.

Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus said on Tuesday that the volume of Ukrainian grain passing through his country more than doubled to 262,000 tons between February and June. He also called on the EU’s executive arm to help finance transit and infrastructure. 

“If we as the European Union have money to spend on different goals, we can find money to subsidize our transport,” Telus told reporters on Brussels. “There are various solutions.”