It doesn’t rain, producing anything in the fields costs more and more, fuels are at their highest, electricity is peaking and the prices that farmers receive for their products have been sinking for years. Now, the perfect storm in the countryside has just been joined by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the so-called granary of Europe on which the countryside depends directly but also indirectly. Spain and the province of Córdoba import cereals and sunflowers, in addition to basic production methods such as manure and fertilizers. This Thursday, the Russian invasion has caused the closure of Ukraine’s airspace, ports and connections with the rest of Europe. It is a matter of time before the agricultural and livestock market runs out of resources that are fundamental.
The Asaja agrarian association recalled this Thursday that “Ukraine is, today, the granary of Europe.” An example: in the Guadalquivir Valley cereal is sown, but most of the wheat is durum, especially for producing pasta. Common wheat is mainly produced in the Ukraine, with its well-known black soils that have exceptional yields. Flour is made with common wheat, which is what is derived from such an essential good as bread.
But there is more. Ukraine is key in the production of sunflower, flour and seeds. Much of this production is also dedicated to the generation of animal feed, which feeds the extensive Spanish cattle herd. With the drought, these products had increased their price by 30%. The lack of fresh grass has caused farmers to dedicate more and more feed to feed their animals. Now it is likely that the feed on the market will not be enough.
The Asaja agrarian association points out that “in the same way, Ukrainian gas and oil are the basis for the production of fertilizers and fertilizers for the whole of Europe and the armed conflict will have serious consequences for community trade, with a significant increase in prices, and of course for the Spanish agricultural sector suffering from a major profitability crisis”.
Spain, deficient in cereals, annually imports almost 30% of the corn it needs from the Ukraine. In 2018, corn imports reached 2.8 million tons, worth 460 million euros (Spain was the second destination of Ukrainian corn exports). In addition, 60% of Spanish purchases abroad of sunflower oil also come from Ukraine, as well as 17% of wheat, 31% of vegetable oil cakes and 15.4% of grain legumes.
“The destination of all these imports is, fundamentally, the production of feed for our livestock and a lack of supply will lead to higher prices for these raw materials, something that for Spanish farmers would have fatal consequences at this time when we are affected by the drought that Spain is suffering”, regrets the employers’ association.
“Other factors of agricultural production such as fertilizers and fertilizers can also be seriously affected by trade with Ukraine, and that will cause new price increases. In short, one more setback for Spanish agricultural and livestock farms that are suffocated by some production costs never before seen and sales prices at origin that do not allow the agricultural activity to be profitable for the producer”, they add.
It is a kind of perfect storm for the countryside, where thousands of farms and crops are at risk of disappearing.
–
