20/03/24View in Browser

Russian food ban gathers political consensus but farmers will be tougher to convince

By Angelo Di Mambro

EU initiatives against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine have always excluded the agricultural sector. This is meant to avoid side effects on global food security, as Russia is the world’s largest exporter of wheat and a major player in the global fertiliser market. 

Today, the solidity of these considerations is crumbling in the face of the political necessity to rebuild the pro-Ukrainian front, worn down by months of farmers’ protests, especially in Eastern Europe. 

At an EU summit on Thursday, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to present to EU leaders proposals to restrict food imports from Russia, imposing duties on Moscow cereals. 

The trade liberalisation with Ukraine, one of the ways the EU helps the Kyiv economy stay afloat, has had unintended consequences.

It has backfired, as the collapse in prices caused by the sharp increase in imports of food commodities, mainly cereals, has been one of the key drivers of the farmers’ protests in Eastern European countries, particularly in Poland, in recent months. 

Tension has frequently risen between Kyiv and Warsaw because of farmers’ blockades at the border and grain spillage

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Photo of the day

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (R) and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal (L) pose for the press with the "Ukraine Plan" at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 20 March 2024. EPA-EFE/OLIVIER MATTHYS

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Views are the author’s

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic/Alice Taylor]

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