Ukraine should explain the benefits of its grain to European farmers

UkrAgroConsult

Ukraine should start a dialogue with Eastern European countries on grain supplies to the EU. This opinion was expressed on Facebook by Olga Trofimtseva, Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

“The protests of farmers in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and Bulgaria are partly a real problem and partly emotional. These fears and protests are nothing new. Our neighbors have been experiencing these concerns for as long as the FTA has been in force,” she explained.

According to Olha Trofimtseva, the situation is now being further exacerbated by those who benefit politically from it. And then the issues of quality, pesticides, and the threat to human health from our grain are being raised. The European Commission has offered three of these countries €56.3 million in compensation for local farmers, but this is not enough for Polish farmers.

She also suggested a way out of this situation for Ukraine – not to take a position of aggressive defense or justification, but to take the initiative and engage in a dialogue both at the level of farmers and the state.

In general, I would suggest creating something like an Eastern European agrarian club with these countries and immediately present them with a topic for discussion: Ukraine in the EU by 2030, like it or not. Let’s try to outline the principles of the Common Agricultural Policy together, taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of each country.

Olha Trofimtseva warns that in the short term, Ukraine needs to be prepared for both tracking and enhanced phytosanitary control.

“War is war, but no one has canceled competition, and everyone, even our sworn friends, will take care of protecting their national interests. And we are not in the strongest position to defend ourselves.

Therefore, we have to use our soft power and prove to our partners and competitors in the EU that Ukraine is a strengthening and a cool +1 in the agricultural sector for the EU, that we will make the EU with Ukraine a powerful global player. This is what we should proceed from,” she summarized.

Tags: Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia