According to Kees Huizinga, the termination of the grain deal by Russia shows once again that there is no business with Russia. The Drenthe farmer in Ukraine is not yet very worried.
Huizinga is in the middle of the harvest season, which has become more difficult due to the wet weather lately. “Winter barley, winter wheat, rapeseed. Then come the beets and sunflowers. So busy.” But how Ukrainian farmers will get their harvests out of the country is the question.
Russia has stopped complying with the agreement that, despite the war, allowed, among other things, the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports across the Black Sea. The ‘grain deal’, as has already happened three times, should be extended again by Monday at the latest. Russia previously grumblingly agreed to the extension, but now the Kremlin is demanding that the conditions set by and for Russia be met first.
The agreement was signed a year ago by the United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia. The Kremlin complains that Ukrainian grain has been exported across the Black Sea without any problems since last July, while Russian farms are suffering from sanctions. Turkey is hopeful that the deal will be extended.
“The Russians play their own game. In the end they give in again”, Huizinga also expects. According to Huizinga, the Russian attitude is mainly aimed at Western politicians. “They may be easier to blackmail. Here they are harder towards the Russians”
But whatever Russia wants, there are no transports across the Black Sea for the time being. “Export via the Black Sea is important. Without export, Ukrainian agriculture is as good as bankrupt. If this continues, it will cost me 5.6 million,” says Huizinga. The volume of grain shipped across the sea by ship cannot be accommodated by boats on rivers or trucks, he says.
Having no market means that harvests have hardly any value. In addition, the price in Ukraine was already low. “The price is in the basement. I’ve been here for twenty years and it’s never been this low. It’s at $100 per ton, in Western Europe it’s $200.” The difference is a direct result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, explains Huizinga. “Transport is more expensive. Normally you pay 15 to 20 dollars to get to the port. Now you have to detour everywhere, reach the port via-via.” With these additional costs, the price of the grain itself must be low in order to compete on the world market.
“Thirty million tons would remain if the Black Sea does not open,” says Huizinga. “Prices are rising as a result, especially poorer countries are affected by this. It is not good for the farmer, but also not good for the consumer,” he says.
As far as Huizinga is concerned, the pressure on Russia is being increased even further. “You have to deal with them very hard, especially on the battlefield they have to be defeated. But also in the negotiations.”
As far as the farmer is concerned, sailing should be resumed as soon as possible. “Put on soldiers, or blue helmets,” he refers to soldiers under the flag of the United Nations. “Let them shoot a ship of grain to the bottom of the sea and they will be scorned by the whole world.”
But what happens to the harvests in the meantime? “They are in storage. In a good storage it stays well and extra storage facilities were added last year,” Huizinga answers that question. Financing schemes have also been drawn up by the government for farmers. “One has a little more fat on the bones, the other is a little leaner.”