Lithuanian farmers claim they have problems with russian grain, not with Ukrainian

Lithuanian farmers say that they are more concerned about the import of russian grain than Ukrainian one.

This is stated in the LRT publication.

Since Friday, Polish farmers have partially blocked the main road at the former border crossing point between Poland and Lithuania and have been checking trucks, citing fears that some of the Ukrainian grain imported to Lithuania is being returned to Poland.

However, Lithuanian grain growers say that their biggest problem is not Ukrainian, but russian grain, which enters the EU in huge quantities.

"These are impressive figures: more than 3 million tons of russian grain passed through Latvia and Lithuania together in 2023. In total, 12 million tons of russian grain were imported to the EU market last year," said Aušrys Macijauskas, head of the Lithuanian Grain Producers Association.

According to him, russian grain lowers prices throughout the EU: the russians are deliberately dumping to create chaos in the agricultural sector. But the European Commission has the tools to put an end to this.

"There is a regulation that allows the EU to intervene in the market in emergency situations and start buying food products whose prices are falling sharply," Macijauskas said.

According to estimates of grain processors, about 50,000 tons of Ukrainian grain were imported to Lithuania last year, which is much less than in the pre-war period. Processors, like grain producers, emphasize that the real problem is russian grain.

The Latvian Parliament has temporarily banned the import of agricultural products from russia and Belarus until at least July 2025. But even this step has changed little, say processors.

We will remind you that the EU will strengthen control over the export of grain from Ukraine due to farmers' protests.

Meanwhile, Poland will ask the EU to impose sanctions on grain from russia and Belarus.

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