Any shortages that may arise as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in food supplies and raw materials in the primary sector in general will be on the agenda at the Maximos Mansion during tomorrow’s meeting—Monday—between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Minister of Rural Development and Food Giorgos Georgantas.
«One issue we will be addressing is the global food crisis; I have convened a meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food for next Monday to ensure food security in our country,» Mr. Mitsotakis stated last Friday, following the conclusion of the summit, emphasizing that «this does not concern our country, but we must be prepared for such a crisis.».
«There is no food security risk for our country,» sources at the Ministry of Rural Development and Food emphasized in remarks to the Athenian – Macedonian News Agency, noting that during the meeting they would discuss the government’s next steps to avert any food security risk.
The few shortages that have occurred with sunflower oil do not affect households. Greece imports approximately 30,000 metric tons from Ukraine out of a total of 120,000 metric tons of sunflower oil imports. Officials from the Food Crisis Committee of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food estimate that these shortages can easily be made up for by imports from Argentina or other third countries.
The same applies to corn, as imports from Russia and Ukraine total approximately 500,000 metric tons. This volume was primarily intended for animal feed production, and according to estimates, the shortfall could be covered by imports from Romania, Bulgaria, other European countries, and South America.
Imports of soft wheat from Ukraine and Russia totaled 250,000 metric tons. Importers have turned to markets in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany, and France, while imports from Canada (via Italy) have already begun—albeit with the drawback, of course, of high transportation costs.
Two additional factors
The meeting between Mr Mitsotakis and Mr Georgantas will also focus on two other issues.
The first concerns the rise in feed prices.
The government plans to allocate 40 million euros to support livestock farmers. The details of the support package will be announced in the coming days by the relevant minister. According to the same sources, it is considered certain that this is just the beginning of the support for livestock farmers and that further support will follow, depending on the state of the budget.
A second, equally important issue is the price of fertilizers, which has «skyrocketed» since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
As sources at the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA), «if farmers don’t apply fertilizer, they won’t achieve the same volume of production they have every year,» They added that «lower production means a bigger food supply problem, as we will be more dependent on imports for the coming season.».
Finally, with regard to imports from South America, Canada, and, more generally, countries outside the EU, what concerns not only the government but also Brussels is that the same quality standards as those set by Europe are not being met.
«Stop» to profiteering
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Rural Development and Food took measures last week to prevent price gouging and product shortages. Through an amendment introduced to a bill by the Ministry of Finance, mandatory inventory reporting was required for a range of agricultural products and foodstuffs.
The entities subject to this requirement are businesses operating in the production, import, trading, sale, brokerage, distribution, distribution, and storage of agricultural products and foodstuffs within Greece must submit inventory data to:
raw materials for fertilizer production,
fertilizers,
animal feed,
raw grains of all kinds, particularly wheat or spelt, rye, barley, oats, corn, and edible buckwheat,
flours, particularly wheat or spelt flours and cereal flours; (f) sunflower seeds; and
vegetable oils, other than olive oil, particularly sunflower oil, palm oil, and corn oil.
