Exports of Ukrainian flour to the EU may actually stop on June 5

From June 5, the export of flour from Ukraine to the European Union may actually stop. Rodion Rybchinsky, director of the Flour Mills of Ukraine Union, told Latifundist.com in a comment.

“The fact is that it is included in the same group as wheat, which can only be exported at the level of 1 million tons. It is clear that there will be no place for flour. We have been applying for a long time, writing letters to remove flour from the “wheat code”, but everything has remained the same,” he said.

According to Rybchinsky, the ability to supply flour to the EU is critically important for Ukrainian flour milling and grain processing enterprises due to a significant reduction in domestic consumption.

In addition, complicated export logistics (the minimum number of container shipments from the ports of Greater Odessa) minimizes the possibility of diversifying exports.

“Among the top 10 manufacturers, the exports of five companies are significantly or completely dependent on the EU market (the EU’s share in exports is more than 70%). It is important to note that 60% of enterprises have existing long-term export contracts with European partners,” Rybchinsky noted.

He added that the average investment in modernization and development of production since the beginning of the war for the top 10 flour mills alone is about 10 million euros.

Tags: restrictions, Ukraine, EU, flour