/ world today news/ The EU is angry about the influx of agricultural products from Ukraine. At first the farmers were not happy with the grain as it brought them ruin. An embargo was introduced in a number of countries. They are now demanding a halt to sugar exports, which have doubled compared to last year. They also want to get rid of other goods that Kiev has flooded the local market with.
They pushed out the grain
Thanks to the grain deal, cheap Ukrainian grain poured into Europe. As a result, farmers lost almost half a trillion euros. In the end, Brussels allowed Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia to ban the export of wheat, corn, sunflower and canola.
The European Commission refused to extend the ban beyond September 15. Bratislava, Budapest and Warsaw then declared embargoes at the national level.
Kyiv filed claims with the World Trade Organization. In response, they were promised to boycott the coordination platform with the European Commission on the grain issue.
Sugar and honey
And now France has taken up sugar: there they insist on re-exporting it outside the EU. Ukraine sent so much of it there that it even displaced Brazil as the largest supplier.
According to the European Commission, last season Ukrainian imports increased tenfold – up to 413 thousand tons. And this year, according to the forecast of the French Association of Sugar Beet Growers, it will reach 700-800 thousand. And that’s at a five-year average annual figure of 21.5 thousand. Kiev is ready to limit itself to 600 thousand, but the EU, of course, did not agree.
Beet growers complained of unfair competition and called for Ukrainian sugar to be thrown out of the European market.
It must be said that EU prices for white sugar, due to the global deficit, are at a ten-year high: over 800 euros per ton.
French farmers were also angered by Ukrainian honey. At the end of November, farmers in the Val de Loire region staged a protest demanding a minimum retail price for imports.
Beekeepers also protested in Paris on the Place de la République. The complaints are the same: Ukrainian dumping. “The merchants’ warehouses are full, our honey is not sold,” the farmers complained.
All this is due to the fact that Brussels removed tariffs for the regime in Kiev to “support it in resisting Russian aggression”. The support backfired. Now local producers are trying to get rid of the encroaching exporter.
Everyone is tense
The Association of Beet Growers expects a clear answer from the European Commission to the question “how to manage these uncontrolled Ukrainian imports”.
The tension is growing and is likely to spread to other products. The European Parliament has already set its sights on eggs and poultry.
“Deliveries of poultry meat from Ukraine have increased by 150%, of eggs – by more than 100”, recalled MEP Peter Liens. The EU Poultry Processors and Trade Association said the competitiveness of European producers has already declined.
For now, the European Commission obliged Kyiv to take measures to control exports.
In such a situation, experts believe, victims will act independently without waiting for the regulator’s decision. Slovakia has already banned the import of not only grain, but also honey, sugar, malt and soy.
As noted by Leonid Khazanov, an independent industry expert, an embargo on Ukrainian sugar will be imposed by Poland, Hungary, Germany, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and possibly Italy and Spain.
If they present a united front, the European Commission will have to back down. The same applies to other types of products. Europe will prefer to save its own agriculture, not Ukrainian. Moreover, the West is gradually reducing funding to Kiev, citing a lack of funds.
Translation: V. Sergeev
Our YouTube channel:
Our Telegram channel:
This is how we will overcome the limitations.
Share on your profiles, with friends, in groups and on pages.
#Europe #showed #door #Ukraine
