Romanian farmers to protest “unintentional dumping” of Ukrainian grain to neighbors

Farmers from across Romania are set to protest on Friday, dissatisfied with the European Commission’s solutions to the imbalances caused by the influx of grain from Ukraine.

Hundreds of vehicles and agricultural machinery will move in convoys in several areas of the country, effectively blocking the surroundings. Farmers are angry because of the elimination of customs duties for Ukrainian grain that happened last year. Logistical bottlenecks made it so large quantities of Ukrainian grains, which are cheaper than those produced in the EU, have ended up in central European states, hitting prices and sales of local farmers, according to Reuters.

Earlier this month, the prime ministers of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia sent a letter to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen saying that tariffs may need to be reintroduced to protect farmers in the EU.

"This extreme form of protest is the result of the deep dissatisfaction and disappointment felt by Romanian farmers regarding the solution found by the European Commission to the serious problems and imbalances faced by the agri-food sector in our country, due to market distortions caused by the armed conflict in Ukraine. The complete elimination of customs duties for all goods from Ukraine since mid-last year has commercially exported the effects of the war to neighboring countries through unintentional dumping, as it has encouraged Ukrainian farmers to sell below cost, along with the forced acceleration of the flow of goods. This measure has not helped and will not help Ukrainian farmers to resume their production cycle under the conditions of a strong escalation of input costs, but it has severely disrupted the market in Romania," says a press release from Romania’s National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives, cited by Economedia.

The protest will have hundreds of vehicles and agricultural machinery move in convoys at reduced speeds on roads in several counties. The organizers have published the list of the areas where protests will take place and the routes to be followed.

Over 50 vehicles will participate in the protest in Cluj county alone. The protest will take place between 12:00 and 15:00 on the DN1 - E81 and DN75 road sections near Moldoveneşti and Mihai Viteazu.

Police are urging drivers to avoid, as much as possible, the road sections targeted by the protest.