The European Commission still does not have a clear decision on whether the grain embargo on several Ukrainian agricultural products will continue, European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski said. “If this ban is not extended, we will have problems,” he said.
In his opinion, to prevent a possible crisis in the EU grain market, it is necessary to maintain the embargo and subsidize the transit of Ukrainian grain to Baltic ports at €30 per ton. “The total compensation will come from the EU budget and amount to €600M. The condition for its allocation will be Ukraine’s obligation to find a recipient for its goods in third countries,” Wojciechowski explained.
According to him, Ukrainian grain settles in Europe because the cost of transportation through Baltic ports to third countries is too high. As a result, these countries buy cheaper Russian grain. Therefore, the EU’s aid to Ukraine as a subsidy is the best solution now.