In Great Britain product prices they are up 19% in the last month. In Spain, farmers fear that a prolonged drought will cause irreversible damage to grain crops. At the same time, in West and Central Africa, the number of people at risk of severe food insecurity is greater than ever.

However, some European countries such as Poland and Hungary have chosen to block import of agricultural products from Ukraine, one of the world’s largest exporters, claiming that the flood of cheap imports is ruining their own farmers. To calm the spirit, the EE is considering a temporary ban on grain imports in five member countries.

The war in Ukraine has reduced the country’s exports and raised the cost of food and fertilizer. With grain supplies to Ukrainian ports blocked by the Russian fleet, the EU has suspended tariffs and quotas on food of Ukrainian origin and helped to import as much as possible by rail and road through neighboring countries. The idea was to create alternative supply routes to areas in Asia, the Middle East and Africa that are facing the most serious problems.

The plan worked up to a point. Shortages have eased, with food prices down more than 20% since March 2022, according to the UN agency.

Most of the Ukrainian grain was sent to distant markets through Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. However, the other part did not go to distant countries, which provoked the crisis. “A significant part of the production remains on local markets, which reduces prices at the expense of European farmers,” says Monika Totova from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The effervescence in the countryside brought political headaches to the rulers. Ahead of Poland’s elections, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki last week imposed a unilateral ban on imports of grain and certain other products from Ukraine, in violation of European rules. Last summer, some farmers in Romania complained about the flow of Ukrainian grain. In an attempt to soften the backlash at home, the EU pledged last Wednesday “comprehensive proposals” to address the problems facing the five countries of Central and Eastern Europe, while allocating 100 million euros for affected farmers.

On Thursday, a European official confirmed that one of the measures being considered is a temporary ban on certain Ukrainian exports to Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, on the condition that those countries lift the unilateral measures. It is not known whether all countries will implement the plan, which some European officials call bold.

Bans on Ukrainian grain exports come amid Russia’s threats to pull out of a deal brokered by the UN and Turkey to open Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea. The agreement expires on May 18, and negotiations on its extension are ongoing, but so far to no avail. But even as the agreement continues to be implemented, the movement of agricultural products across the Bosporus is slow, intermittent and expensive. Harvest in Ukraine has already fallen by 40% compared to pre-war levels.