Grain, bankruptcies, maybas and war in Ukraine

Now is the time for the cabinet, industry and scientific associations institutions to put agriculture on the fast “Israeli” tracks

The scandal with the ban on food imports from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland created a fierce conflict between consumers, farmers and producers. Accompanied by unprecedented hate of some groups against others in social networks. The Cabinet attempted to defuse the tension partially by allowing these supplies to transit through the country.

Wheat, flour, sunflower, oil, corn, honey and bee products, milk, walnuts, hazelnuts, eggs, various types of meat, rye, barley, oats, sorghum, buckwheat, starch cannot be imported from Ukraine until June 30. soy, linseed, wine, wine vinegar and ethyl alcohol. Until then, farmers hope there will be a common European solution to protect the agricultural sector of the Old Continent. But this only gave even more power to the scandal. On the one hand, oil producers were outraged, asking with reason why they should be deprived of cheap Ukrainian sunflower. With Bulgarian, whether they want it or not, they will have to again

to raise prices

of one of the most popular products. And they will again come under the blows of consumers, who will declare them speculators.

The point of view of buyers is also absolutely reasonable. With incomes crushed by inflation, Bulgarians are massively convinced that they have the right to use cheap Ukrainian food and raw materials, with which the prices of some goods such as eggs, oil, bread, pasta products have noticeably gone down. Especially since until recently there was brutal speculation in our country and the prices of some products drastically exceeded those of analogues in Austria, Luxembourg, Greece, Great Britain, etc. Experts also appeared, who recalled the luxurious lifestyle and mayabas of some prominent grain producers, which added fuel to the fire.

Farmers, who create 16% of the gross domestic product, took offense, numbed by the public hatred against them. But they also have their reasons for protesting Ukrainian goods and grain. They, in order to receive subsidies, must cover

dozens of requirements

in terms of plant protection preparations, minimum levels for pesticides, environmentally friendly fertilizers, safe vaccines, feed, etc. All products that are an expression of the desire of the European Commission to take care of the health of European citizens. As well as that they are in line with the Green Deal for a zero carbon footprint. The problem is that all these regulations, purified fertilizers, preparations, raw materials cost much more than those used in Ukraine. Not to mention the differences in the price of electricity, natural gas, wages, rents, the price of land, which are paid in the European Union and those in Ukraine.

Here, as usual, nothing is black or white. For example, opponents of grain producers confidently claim that they are partly to blame for the current impasse. According to them, they expected that grain and sunflower prices would continue to rise because of this forecast.

have deliberately withheld the

store huge quantities

With which they raised the general price level of the most popular goods. With the appearance of Ukrainian analogues, prices collapse, stocks can hardly be exported in this situation, and so, on the threshold of the new harvest, some of our farmers fall into a classic trap. But which they themselves bet… Without the intervention of the state, now they are doomed to colossal losses.

There is another point of view in this drama-filled plot. To the distressed Ukrainian farmers who produce in conditions of war and barely manage to export their goods through the corridors of solidarity. Including last year’s harvests. They are forced to sell at any price because otherwise they cannot sow. In addition to their daily struggle for survival, they are now also facing increasingly difficult markets in the EU.

Thus, European solidarity with Ukraine collided head-on with the interests of the affected farmers from the most affected countries – Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria. Romania has also announced that it is suffering from cheap imports, but will wait for the general decision of the EU. Until then, it will be unilaterally banned until June 30, and it will only be allowed through the territories of the 4 countries

the transit with

sealed cargo

The more important question here is why European farmers cannot achieve the efficiency of Israeli agriculture? It is smart, economical and efficient. Several harvests of fruits, vegetables, grain products are harvested there in a record short time, which are exported all over the world. Drip irrigation is a must, along with using seasonal changes to plant the most suitable crops one after the other.

Even a cursory glance at their international “smart farming” portal shows that in Israel, farmers can rely on highly developed world-class science. It is aimed at the best protection,

the highest possible

efficiency

in crop and animal husbandry, with the lowest possible costs. Of course, not all of these excellences are applicable in the EU. Israel is number one in gene editing of varieties and animals, and these products are banned in the Union, but they enter countries like ours, and once shaped as an intra-community supply, they can go anywhere.

Therefore, it is now critically important to analyze our serious scientific institutes in the field of agriculture and how they can help in the growing crisis.