Romania’s Social Democrat Party has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to start negotiations for the implementation in Romania of the „Polish model” regarding Ukrainian grain exports to the European Union.
„Furthermore, the PSD believes that Romania must continue to stand with Ukraine and ensure the transit of grains from this country to third countries in the European Union and to the commercial routes of the Black Sea”, the party was careful to add.
According to the source, the major difficulties encountered by Romanian farmers as a result of the facilitation of Ukrainian grain trade must be resolved through a constructive diplomatic dialogue between the two states.
„Romania’s Agriculture Ministry is prepared to provide technical support to the MAE representatives in the diplomatic discussions with the Ukrainian side. At the same time, the PSD proposes that Romania supports within the Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the European Union (COREPER) that Regulation No. 70 /2022 on the regime of customs duties for Ukrainian products to be enforced differentially at the Union level. Thus, the EU member states which ensure their internal consumption from their own production should only allow the transit of grain from Ukraine to the member states that cannot cover their needs consumption from own production. Such a measure would be truly fair both for Ukrainian farmers and for farmers from the EU member states,” the Social-Democrats also say in the press release.
Ukraine, a major global grain producer and exporter, received EU aid after the outbreak of Russia’s war and created solidarity corridors so the country could continue its grain exports.
As a result, Romania imported an unprecedented 13.9% of $1.24 billion worth of Ukrainian grain, way ahead of any other country globally. But for the country’s grain farmers, this creates a troubling situation, leading to potential bankruptcy for Romanian agriculturists and making Romania a mere transit country in this affair. Many local farmers have seen their products languishing in warehouses for over a year as they cannot compete with the low prices of Ukrainian grain. In addition, transporting grain for the external market is also almost impossible because all the logistical capacity is concentrated on Ukrainian cargo, including at the Port of Constanta, which is blocked by Ukrainian ships.
Others have criticized the quality of Ukrainian grain as it remains exempt from quality control and EU standards.
Romanian farmers demand their rights, in light of recent difficulties
