EU Countries Facing Wheat Shortages Due to Ukraine’s Grain Exports
Agriculture ministers from central European member states of the European Union have agreed to maintain a united front to push for restrictions on exemptions from customs duties on agricultural imports from Ukraine. The ministers are calling for restrictions on exemptions and the reintroduction of quotas for wheat, maize, sunflower, rapeseed and soybeans from Ukraine due to a glut of these products in neighbouring countries. The ministers are also asking the European Commission to purchase unsold grain grown and stored in member states bordering Ukraine for humanitarian purposes. Hungary’s Agriculture Minister, István Nagy, has said that his country would like to introduce temporary customs on Ukrainian grain if its destination is a neighbouring country. In other news, Hungary’s consumption of natural gas fell by 25.8% in March due to consumer behaviour, government savings measures and the mild winter. Electricity consumption in the country also decreased over the first quarter of the year.
