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EU should buy Ukrainian grain for countries in need, French group says

The European Union could buy several million tonnes of Ukrainian grain and channel it to vulnerable countries as food aid, the head of French industry group Intercereales said.

Russia’s invasion has disrupted Ukraine’s massive agricultural exports, raising the risk of a global food crisis.

Diplomats have been trying to negotiate a sea corridor from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, while also looking at how to develop alternative export routes before Ukraine’s new harvest arrives.

In France, the government has been in talks with industry representatives including Intercereales to propose solutions. President Emmanuel Macron has previously outlined a global food security plan as well as suggesting expanding rail transport from Ukraine’s Odesa port to Romania.

The EU could potentially purchase 2-3 million tonnes of cereal for temporary storage in member states that border Ukraine before being exported partly to countries in need, Intercereales President Jean-Francois Loiseau said.

Such an amount would alleviate Ukraine’s stockpile of near 20 million tonnes but would not be so big as to destabilise international markets, he said.

“This would allow the European Commission to pay Ukrainian farmers, and so Ukrainian farmers would have money to buy their seed, fertiliser and fuel, and this would allow many countries that are in a calamitous situation … to have food donations from the European Union on a large scale,” Loiseau told Reuters.

Such volumes would require “military-style logistical management” with the involvement of large companies or possibly the army, he said.

Plastic silo bags or carefully arranged outdoor piles could be options for temporary storing grain during summer, he added.

Loiseau has suggested the idea to the French government and the European Commission as part of ongoing discussions, he said.

U.S. President Joe Biden has also cited temporary storage of grain near Ukraine’s borders as an option, while Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan offered to re-export grain from the Black Sea region to help countries in need.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Gus Trompiz Editing by Mark Potter)

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