Romanian farmers will participate in Brussels on Tuesday in the farmers’ and cooperatives’ demonstration organised by the enlarged Visegrad Group, dissatisfied with the problems and serious imbalances faced by the agri-food sector in the context of the conflict in Ukraine, write Agerpres.
The event will take place on Tuesday, from 11:00 to 13:00, in the Schuman area, with 200 participants from 6 countries (Romania, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Slovakia), and 50 from Romania alone, announced representatives of the Alliance for Agriculture and Cooperation (AAC).
„The demonstration is the consequence of the deep dissatisfaction and disappointment of farmers and cooperatives in the neighbouring countries of Ukraine with the solution found by the European Commission to the problems and serious imbalances faced by the agri-food sector, amid market distortions caused by this armed conflict. International trade in agri-food products with Ukraine has been liberalised for another year. The compensation paid to some countries is far below the required level. Not all Central and Eastern European countries affected by trade liberalisation with Ukraine are compensated. We underline our support for Ukraine, the Ukrainian people and Ukrainian farmers. We hope for a swift end to the unprovoked military conflict in Ukraine and support aid to Ukraine, but such aid must not jeopardise the viability and competitiveness of EU farmers or lead to their liquidation,” reads a statement from the Alliance for Agriculture and Cooperation sent to AGERPRES.
Representatives of the agricultural organisation say that the current situation is serious, with farmers in the countries concerned currently facing a rapid fall in prices and a lack of demand for cereals and oilseeds due to an excess of supply over demand.
According to them, the solidarity corridors are not working, the situation being caused mainly by duty-free imports of Ukrainian agricultural products into the European Union, where wheat, maize and soya were imported, even though they were destined for third countries or traditional buyers of Ukrainian products.
„In such a short time, there is no real possibility to increase storage capacity, at least not without compromising the quality parameters of the production and, mainly, its ability to resist mould and pests,” warn the AAC representatives.
Another situation reported by Romanian farmers is the increase in the number of lorries loaded with processed primary products (oil, flour, corn flour, meal, sugar), and in this context quotas are needed in all member states to keep the situation under control and to avoid the destruction of industries in Eastern European countries.
In this context, farmers and cooperatives from Central and Eastern Europe participating in the protest in Brussels on May 23, 2023 are demanding the restoration of customs duties and quotas on Ukrainian agricultural and food products and the extension of the list of products covered by the regulations on temporary preventive measures on imports from Ukraine to include eggs, poultry meat, oil, flour, corn flour, sugar, fruit and vegetables and its extension until Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
The Alliance for Agriculture and Cooperation is made up of four organisations, the National Federation of Agricultural Producers, Food Industry and Related Services in Romania – PRO AGRO, the League of Agricultural Producers’ Associations in Romania (LAPAR), the National Union of Cooperatives in the Plant Sector (UNCSV) and the Farmers’ Force Association (AFF).
