Ukraine should involve the EU and Turkey in talks on restoring grain exports — opinian
Ukraine should urgently seek an agreement on restoring grain exports amid the suspension of vessel calls to its Black Sea ports by involving the European Union and Turkey in the negotiations.
According to Leonid Kozachenko, President of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation (UAC), the immediate priorities include negotiating with the EU to remove import quotas on Ukrainian agricultural products, engaging Turkey in talks on reopening the Black Sea export corridor, ensuring unrestricted grain transit through Poland, and using state-owned grain storage facilities.
He called on the government to immediately begin negotiations with the European Union to abolish or significantly expand quotas on Ukrainian agricultural imports.
According to Kozachenko, drought could sharply reduce the EU’s corn harvest this year, leaving the bloc in need of at least 7 mln tons of imported corn, part of which could be supplied by Ukraine.
“It angered me that they are negotiating with Argentina and Brazil. We urgently need to reach an agreement so that Europe opens its doors to Ukrainian corn,” he said.
Kozachenko also stressed the need to involve Turkey in negotiations on restoring the Black Sea grain export corridor.
“Turkey must be brought into the negotiations first. President Erdoğan has direct contact with Putin. If he says this is important for Turkey, he could help restore the grain corridor. At this point, every ton of grain we can export matters, and Turkey has always been one of our major buyers,” Kozachenko said.
Another urgent priority, he added, is ensuring unrestricted transit of Ukrainian grain through Poland to Baltic Sea ports.
“A decision should be made at the EU level to guarantee unrestricted transit across the European Union,” he said.
Kozachenko also believes that Ukraine should make maximum use of state-owned grain storage facilities for temporary grain storage and market interventions.
“State storage capacity is available for up to 7.5 mln tons. That would be more effective than simply providing loans. Grain stored in grain bags can only be kept safely for 1-2 months,” he noted.
According to Kozachenko, these measures would have a greater impact than expanding financial support programs for farmers. He added that the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation has already submitted a package of proposals to the Prime Minister aimed at stabilizing grain exports under the current disruption of maritime logistics.
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