Border crossings are blocked, a minister has been attacked by eggs and grain silos, and discontent is growing among farmers in Eastern Europe who see an influx of grain from Ukraine affecting their businesses and undermining the political will Ukraine so desperately needs, Bloomberg reports.

Poland and other Eastern European countries, including Romania, have agreed to help move grain from Ukraine to world markets after the Russian invasion blocked Ukrainian seaborne exports. Some of this grain has now ended up in Eastern Europe, threatening the incomes of local farmers.

The surplus of grain is the result of the blocking of certain infrastructure, as well as the decision of farmers to postpone the sale of last year’s harvest. Meanwhile, the grain surplus became a political issue as protesters took to the streets.

Last summer, Eastern European farmers decided to wait to sell their grain in anticipation of higher prices after the start of the war in Ukraine. Instead, the global crisis has pushed prices down, with farmers in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria now facing lower incomes and struggling to empty their silos ahead of this summer’s new harvest.

Political leaders, who initially rushed to support Ukraine, are beginning to complain. “We should help Ukraine with the transportation and sale of grain to countries outside the EU,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawieck wrote four months ago when he offered $20 million to help Ukraine export grain to Africa.

On Friday, the same Mateusz Morawiec said that the European Union should re-impose tariffs on Ukrainian agricultural products, if the influx of these products, which lowers prices on EU markets, cannot be stopped by other means. In a letter sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the prime ministers of Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary proposed several measures to limit market distortions caused by Ukrainian imports, adding that if they do not work, they should again introduce tariffs and quotas.

Farmers’ complaints can have political implications. Poland and Slovakia will hold parliamentary elections later this year, and farmers are an important category of voters. Bulgaria is in a similar situation, as parliamentary elections will be held on Sunday.

Romanian farmers traveled to Brussels on Wednesday to protest in front of the European Commission, displaying banners reading “Romanian farmers deserve respect”. Romania, one of the largest producers of wheat and corn in the EU, has contributed more than half of Ukraine’s grain exports since the beginning of the war.

According to Rezvan Filipescu, vice president of the Dobrudja Association of Agricultural Producers, grain imports from Ukraine rose to 570,000 tons last year from close to zero in 2021.

President Klaus Iohannis said the 56 million euro crisis funds provided by the public bloc for farmers were not enough, and he also criticized the fact that the “huge sacrifices” made by Romania were not taken into account.

Slovakia wants the European Union to cooperate with the UN’s World Food Program to ensure grain from Ukraine is transported outside member states, according to a source close to the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity.

However, grain from Ukraine could play a role in covering a possible shortage in Europe. The drought that affected much of the EU last summer affected maize crops and new imports were needed to cover the shortfall. In addition, Ukrainian supplies are likely to decrease in the coming months as the war affects harvests. “Total exports from Ukraine will decrease, including to the EU, that’s understandable,” says Alex Lissitsa, CEO of the Ukrainian agribusiness company IMC.

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