The EU is considering alternative routes for Ukrainian grain through Italy and Greece

The European Union is exploring the possibility of involving Italy and Greece in the so-called “solidarity corridor” for the export of Ukrainian grain.

According to Miriam Garcia Ferrer, spokesperson for the European Commission on Agriculture and Trade, the “solidarity corridor” has reduced logistics costs by 50%.

The EU is also aiming to reach 4 million tons through this corridor by the end of the year.

“In parallel, of course, we need to strengthen other corridors, and there are alternative routes. Just yesterday, during a meeting of the Joint Coordination Platform, we not only invited the Baltic States and Croatia to discuss alternative routes, but we also included Italy and Greece as potential new routes for Ukrainian grain exports,” the European Commission representative said.

Commenting on the expiration of the ban on imports of Ukrainian grain, the European Commission said that there is no decision at the EU level yet.

However, Garcia Ferrer noted that “there is still time until midnight on September 15”. She promised that the best decision for all parties would be made.

As reported, recently the Polish government supported the initiative of the Minister of Agriculture Robert Telus to extend the ban on grain imports from Ukraine to Poland unilaterally after September 15, when the embargo agreed with the European Commission expires.

At the same time, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine would file a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) if Poland does not abandon its intention to impose unilateral restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural exports after September 15.

As a reminder, on September 15, the European Commission is to lift its moratorium on imports of Ukrainian corn, wheat, rapeseed and sunflower seeds to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

Tags: Ukraine, export, grain, Italy, Greece