UN to help EU countries redistribute Ukrainian grain surpluses – Kommersant

The UN World Food Program will help EU countries to transfer surpluses of Ukrainian grain to needy countries. About this in an interview with the newspaper Politico Martin Frick, head of the UN offices in Brussels and Berlin, said.

“Getting grain to some of the poorest people is critical in this global food crisis. We transported grain from Ukraine through the Black Sea and are ready to work with the European Commission and member states to find a solution,” said Martin Frick. According to him, the food program has experience in building complex logistics to deliver large volumes of goods to countries in need.

At the end of March, four EU countries – Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria – introduced a temporary ban on the import of Ukrainian grain. According to the authorities, the import of Ukrainian grain harms the economy of local farmers. After that, the European Commission promised to allocate €100 million to support farmers from these countries. April 23, according to the newspaper Politicorepresentatives of the European Commission met with the authorities of countries that refused to import Ukrainian grain to discuss the redistribution of surplus agricultural products.

After the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, the EU countries introduced a temporary trade liberalization regime with Kiev: since then, Ukrainian products have been entering the pan-European market without duties. According to the UN Comtrade, Ukrainian grain exports to Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia soared from $24 million in 2021 to $2.4 billion in 2022.

How Ukraine is looking for alternative opportunities for the export of grain – read the material “Grain bail”.

Anastasia Larina