EU-Russia Agri-Trade: Tariffs & Farmer Protests

According to Janusz Wojciechowski,the EUs agriculture commissioner,the trade volume of agricultural products between the EU and Russia in 2023 reached as high as 9 billion euros,of which the value of EU agricultural product exports to Russia was 7 billion euros,and the value of agricultural product imports from Russia was 2 billion euros.

Wojciechowski said that the main agricultural products imported by the EU from Russia are grains.In 2022,Russia exported about 2.5 million tons of grain to the EU,including 1 million tons of grains and 1.5 million tons of oilseeds.In 2023,Italy was the largest importer of Russian wheat in Europe,with an import volume of 478,000 tons.Latvia ranked second with 360,000 tons,and Lithuania also had a considerable import volume.

The growth of agricultural product trade is to some extent at odds with the demands of EU farmers.On the one hand,EU farmers protested against Ukraines duty - free exports; on the other hand,the EU hopes that its agricultural product trade with Russia complies with the anti - Russia sanctions policy.To this end,the EU Council decided to impose some tariffs on agricultural product trade with Russia to slow down the import speed.

Wojciechowski explained: "The European Council has decided to impose certain tariffs on such trade with Russia,thereby reducing imports." He noted that although there were changes in certain imported grain varieties in 2023,the total volume remained almost unchanged.

Analysts pointed out that after the outbreak of the Russia - Ukraine conflict,the prices of commodities including energy and agricultural products fluctuated violently,bringing a serious impact on the global supply chain.Against this background,the EUs maintenance of agricultural product trade with Russia can,on the one hand,meet its domestic demand,and on the other hand,reflect the principle of mutual benefit and win - win results in trade.

However,Western countries have continuously increased the intensity of sanctions against Russia,with frequent sanctions in the energy,finance and other fields,and agricultural product trade may also be affected to a certain extent.