Page 32 - UKRRptSept23

Five EU countries will demand an extension of the grain embargo through the end of this year. Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary will negotiate with the EU on extending the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain, Polish Minister of Agriculture Robert Telus said. "I want to say that even if this cannot be achieved, some countries will introduce their restrictions," the minister said. According to him, the ministers of agriculture of these five countries also agreed that they support subsidizing the transit of Ukrainian grain and want other products to be added to the list of goods prohibited for import - for example, raspberries, in the case of Poland. At the same time, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called on EU leadership and member countries, some of which received increased agricultural sector financing from the European budget, to find a balanced solution based on EU legislation and the Association Agreement. At the same time, Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis called on Russia to restore the grain agreement.
Not only imports: the transit of Ukrainian grain through Poland is at risk due to a lack of warehouses. As the State Secretary for Development of Cooperation with Ukraine, Jadwiga Emilevych, reported, US President Joe Biden has not yet fulfilled his promise to build granaries along the Ukrainian-Polish border. After a very fruitful harvest period, the capacities of Polish granaries and storage systems are definitely not enough to receive Ukrainian grain, sunflower, and other goods, Emilevych said. The official also noted that during her meeting with officials in Washington last month, few details were revealed about the promise to build grain storage facilities, which Biden made during a speech in Philadelphia last June. "Biden made that promise publicly. But when we started asking about it, no one in the administration was willing to answer the questions," she said. According to Emilevych, Poland also wants the EU to agree to a new subsidy of €30 per ton of Ukrainian grain transiting through Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria.
Two more merchant ships leave Ukrainian port through navy corridor. Two ships have left the Pivdennyi Port in Odesa Oblast through a corridor organized by the Ukrainian Navy, the Infrastructure Ministry announced on Sep. 1.
Ukrainian barley will be exported through Romania, and Lithuania wants financial support from the EU to transport grain through its ports.Due to the increased freight costs and the threat of Russian attacks on the Danube port infrastructure, agricultural market participants reported that the Ukrainian barley export market is shifting to road and rail logistics. "Even the farmers of the central regions began to be interested in truck deliveries of barley to Romania - logistics are cheaper," analysts noted. Meanwhile, the Minister of Transport of Lithuania, Marius Skoudis, said that grain transportation from Ukraine through the port of Lithuania requires economic assistance from the EU. "If the economic issue is resolved, then there are already political decisions regarding the procedures to reduce the transportation time. EU aid has been allocated for transportation through Moldova," the minister said. In this case, he is convinced that the financial assistance will be small compared to the support Lithuania provides to Ukraine. Skoudis reminded that grain from Ukraine has not been transported through Lithuania recently due to high logistics costs.
The Russian provocation in the Black Sea increased wheat prices.
Bloomberg reported that the wheat futures prices rose about 1.2% to $6.56 a bushel after falling 1.5% on Friday. This happened after a Russian warship fired a warning shot to illegally stop a civilian cargo ship for inspection. A dry cargo ship was on its way to the Ukrainian port of Izmail when a Russian navy patrol ship opened fire, allegedly because the ship's operators did not respond to a request for an inspection, the Russian military ministry said. It is noted that the ship was allowed to continue on its way without specifying what cargo - if
32 UKRAINE Country Report September 2023 www.intellinews.com