EU Rejects Higher Wheat Quota, Ukraine Seeks Bioethanol Export Increase
Ukraine's Ministry of Agrarian Policy says the European Union has rejected its request to increase the import quota for wheat, citing the current socio-political situation in Europe. Despite this setback, Ukraine will continue negotiations with the EU on expanding access for agricultural products to the European market.
The ministry is advising Ukrainian exporters to use a separate WTO tariff quota, which allows for imports of 2.3 million tons of wheat, subject to an applicable duty of €12 per ton. However, this quota is significantly lower than Ukraine's original request.
Ukraine will also continue its focus on bioethanol exports, with the ministry planning to seek a quota increase to allow for approximately 60,000 additional tons of exports. The minister cited three arguments in favor of such a decision: declining EU corn production, the European Union's net import status for bioethanol, and Ukraine's own imports of gasoline from the EU that contains a mandatory share of bioethanol.