EU Agriculture Commissioner, Janusz Wojciechowski has said that the use of Solidarity Lanes is the “solution” to dealing with Russia’s recent decision to exit the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Solidarity Lanes, which were established in May 2022, are rail, road and inland waterways connections that enable Ukraine to import and export critical goods through bordering EU countries.
The potential volume of grain exports from Ukraine is about 4 million tonnes per month this year, he said after a meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council yesterday (Tuesday, July 25).
This level of exports, he said, was already achieved using Solidarity Lanes in November 2022. To date, 60% of Ukrainian grain was exported through the channels, and 40% via the Black Sea.
Solidarity Lanes
The commissioner met with the agriculture ministers of the five “frontline countries” – Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia – in which a ban on Ukrainian imports is currently in place.
All five member states seek to extend restrictions on the imports of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower, which were agreed with the commission, beyond the September 15 deadline.
Before the war, EU agri-food imports from Ukraine stood at €7 billion. In 2022 they reached €13 billion. Of this increase, almost €5 billion worth of exports went to the five countries.
Referring to the ban on Ukrainian imports, he highlighted that none of the five countries is trying to make the transit from Ukraine more difficult. Romania is the biggest transport corridor.
However, transport supports need to be considered, as the current cost of transport is “not attractive enough” to export via Solidarity Lanes, the commissioner said.
There could be a risk that Russia will “benefit” from the situation, he said, because it will be cheaper to buy grain from Russia than to pay for Ukrainian grain and the transport to the ports.
Ahead of the expiry date in September, the EU Agriculture Commissioner said the market situation will be reviewed and analysed, taking final harvest figures into account.
Earlier this week, the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the blocking of Ukrainian grain exports by land after September 15, is “unacceptable in any form”.
‘Green corridors’ to export grain
Ukrainian farmers have asked the commission to create “green corridors” to simplify travel to the ports of the Baltic States, Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia, the Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC) said.
The UAC together with the leading agrarian associations that are members of the Ukrainian Agri Forum addressed the EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis with their request.
Following the end of the Black Sea grain deal, there is a “growing need” to increase the export capacity through Solidarity Lanes by “approximately 1-1.5 million tonnes” of grain per month, the UAC said.
Routes to the ports of the Baltic States (Klaipeda, Liepaja, Ventspils, Ryga), Germany (Rostock, Hamburg), the Netherlands (Rotterdam), Croatia (Rijeka), Italy (Trieste), and Slovenia (Koper) are “underutilised”.
“The main obstacle to the full use of these destinations and ports is the relatively high cost of transportation compared to other nearby ports, in particular Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, which currently amounts to a difference of €30-40/t.
“This situation creates an uneven load on the existing port infrastructure of the EU countries,” according to the UAC.
The introduction of “green corridors”, according to the UAC, would include:
- Reduction of transportation costs in these areas;
- Simplification and acceleration of control procedures for the transit of agricultural products;
- Transfer of sanitary, phytosanitary and veterinary control from border checkpoints to the territory of the country of destination.
EU member states called for the further strengthening of Solidarity Lanes, exploring new route options while maintaining the protection of the internal market.
Agriculture ministers stressed the need to monitor the storage capacity in member states neighbouring Ukraine, and to continue to pay close attention to any market developments.