The European Union has lowered its purchases of Ukrainian grain for the first time since the start of mass farmer protests. In February, its imports dropped by over 20%, based on calculations from the European Statistical Service.
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In Europe, farmer protests have been ongoing for several years, starting in 2019 in the Netherlands due to stricter green regulations. Discontent became more widespread towards the end of last year due to higher fuel and fertilizer costs, as well as decreased farm product prices from imported Ukrainian goods, leading to protests in 12 countries.
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In February of this year, the European Union significantly reduced its purchases of Ukrainian grain, by 21% to 2 million tons from 2.5 million tons the previous month, marking the first reduction since October last year. Conversely, supplies grew at the end of winter in 2023.
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The largest reductions in purchases were seen in Romania (1.9 times), France (1.7 times), and Bulgaria (1.6 times). The main buyers of Ukrainian grain also notably decreased their imports: Spain by 18% to 1.3 million tons, the Netherlands by 1.5 times to 166 thousand tons, and Italy by a third to 162 thousand tons.
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Belgium and Ireland increased imports, tripling them to 64 and 93 thousand tons, respectively.
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The import of other agricultural products from Ukraine to the European Union, on the other hand, rose by 3% to 1.2 million tons. Beverage supplies saw the largest increase, growing by a third to 8.8 thousand tons, and plant materials increased by 23% to 37 thousand tons.
