Ukraine is the fourth largest food supplier in the European Union, with significant imports of grain and vegetable oils. In the event of a conflict, the Brussels newspaper Politico said, supply chains would be disrupted.

“Food security should be a very important argument for why there should not be a military conflict. I am afraid that this aspect is not taken into account too much by decision makers,” said the head of the Brussels office of the Ukrainian business community in Brussels. Center.

No contingency plans yet, admitted a senior EU official who did not wish to be named, adding that geopolitical and security departments were actively analyzing the situation across Ukraine, but the Ministry of Agriculture had not been instructed to do so yet. . When EU agriculture ministers meet, they don’t deal with it either.

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This is clearly understandable, since the EU is itself a food exporter and Ukraine accounts for only 4.9% of EU food imports. However, the EU is almost completely dependent on Ukrainian imports for some important food items. 88 percent of sunflower oil comes to the European Union from Ukraine, 41 percent from rapeseed oil and 26 percent from honey.

He said the biggest challenge is the short-term supply shock PolicyDeputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine. Taras Kaska in particular noted that Ukraine plays an important role in the EU’s corn imports. This is very important in animal husbandry, so chicken and pig farms can be a problem everywhere in the European Union, where it is not easy to quickly find an alternative to animal feed.




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