The region accounts for 50 per cent of global sulphur exports and 34 per cent of urea shipments.

WHY IT MATTERS: This is the time of year many farmers are making fertilizer decisions and purchases.

“The conflict can severely disrupt the availability of those two products in particular, with limited options to cover the shortfall,” Marina Simonova, head of fertilizer analytics with Argus Media, said in a video presentation.

Urea prices are up about 30 per cent since the start of the conflict, while sulphur prices have not yet responded.

The region is also a major player in ammonia, phosphate rock and DAP/MAP markets.

More than 60 million tonnes of fertilizer and fertilizer raw materials are exported out of the Middle East annually. That includes 20.1 million tonnes each of sulphur and urea.

“This is a significant volume,” she said.

The war has disrupted run rates at production facilities in the Middle East and has created challenges with logistics and shipping infrastructure.

For instance, drone strikes have led to Saudi Aramco taking its Ras Tanura refinery offline in Saudi Arabia. The Duqm port in Oman was hit by a drone, while the Salalah port was closed for safety reasons.

Sulphur, urea and ammonia production has also been disrupted in Qatar and Iran.

Potash and phosphate production has so far been unaffected.

Fertilizer production facilities are not major targets, but can suffer collateral damage.

And then there are the shipping challenges.

“The majority of fertilizer-producing sites in the region rely heavily on the Strait of Hormuz to be able to ship to international markets,” said Simonova.

Saudi Arabia is by far the biggest fertilizer exporter in the region, accounting for 16 million tonnes or 25 percent of the Middle East’s shipments.

Iran is the fifth largest exporter, with about half of that volume.

The conflict is also disrupting the production and exports of natural gas and oil. Natural gas is an essential feedstock for ammonia production, while sulphur is a byproduct of oil production.

She said sulphur and ammonia are both important ingredients for downstream phosphate and nitrogen fertilizer supply chains.

As a result, there is a domino effect for the fertilizer industry when natural gas and oil supplies are disrupted.

“It can have far-reaching consequences for all fertilizer commodities and global markets,” said Simonova.

The top three sulphur buyers in the world (China, Morocco and Indonesia) each have more than a 50 per cent reliance on product from the Middle East.

Meanwhile, India, Morocco and South Korea could experience severe shortages of ammonia for their phosphate and chemical production.

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That may not happen, immediately, because Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Liberal government have been busy over the last 10 months, dealing with trade conflicts, wars and the potential end of the global world order.

“We continue to speak to elected officials… (but) Prime Minister Carney’s attention has been focused elsewhere,” said Kaitlyn Mitchell, director of legal advocacy with Animal Justice, a Toronto-based animal welfare organization.

Exporting live horses from Canada made headlines in mid-February, due to an unusual trial at the Provincial Court in Winnipeg.

Animal Justice led a private prosecution of a horse exporter from Swan River, Man., charging him with shipping horses to Japan without making the necessary plans to protect their welfare.

The group launched the private prosecution in 2024 because the Canadian Food Inspection Agency didn’t take legal action in the case.

On Feb. 13 the prosecution and defence submitted their closing statements to the court. Justice Sandra Chapman reserved her decision for a future date.

Animal Justice’s lawyer, Dan Stein, laid out the basic facts of the case in his closing submission:

• On Dec. 11, 2022, Lyle Lumax, the owner of Carolyle Farms in Swan River transported 97 live horses by truck to the Winnipeg airport
• Of that group, 79 horses were put in crates and loaded onto a Korean Air plane in the early hours of Dec. 12
• The flight departed Winnipeg at approximately 4:00 a.m. that day, but the plane was re-routed from Anchorage, Alaska to Seattle, Wash. because of a snowstorm in Anchorage.

Stein said that re-routing caused the horses to be in transport for more than 33 hours without food, water or rest, in the journey to Kagoshima, Japan.

That exceeded the 28-hour time limit for transporting horses in CFIA regulations.

The travel time was in excess of 28 hours, but Animal Justice claims that Carolyle Farms failed to a have a contingency plan for unknown but foreseeable events for the shipment from Winnipeg to Japan.

Canada’s Health of Animals Regulations require a contingency plan, to prevent an animal’s death, injury or suffering.

Carolyle Farms did file a contingency plan in September 2022 for the trip to Japan. But Lumax only had a contingency plan for the transport of the horses from Swan River to Winnipeg, not the entire journey to Japan, Stein said.

“His plan only went as far as the airport and wheels up,” he said. “Was it OK that Carolyle Farms washed their hands of this (contingency plan), once this plane lifted off?”

Farmer’s responsibility ends at the airport: defence

Lumax wasn’t in court Feb. 13. His attorney told the court that the farmer can’t be held responsible for decisions made, or not made, after the Korean Air flight departed from Winnipeg.

Yes, there is shared responsibility to ensure the welfare of the horses and develop a contingency plan, the defence said.

But ultimately there is a decision maker and when the plane is in the air, Korean Air was responsible for the welfare of the animals.

The defence pointed to testimony from Dr. Erika Spek, of the CFIA, who told the court that the air portion of the contingency plan is the responsibility of the airline.

Another bill to ban live horse exports?

Each year, 2,000 to 3,000 horses are exported from Canada to Japan. Once there, they are fattened, slaughtered and the meat is served raw, as sashimi, said Animal Justice.

“There are a small number of feedlots. There is one here (in Manitoba). There are about four in Alberta,” Mitchell said.

“It’s about $18 million a year going to this handful of companies.”

From 2023 to 2025, Bill C-355 was before Parliament. It would have prohibited the export of live horses, by plane.

It passed the House of Commons in May 2024 but died in the Senate when the election was called in early 2025.

Animal Justice continues to lobby for a new bill or regulation to stop the practice and some MPs have committed to getting this done, Mitchell said.

“As far as we’re aware, that’s still the plan.”

There are, however, politicians who support horse exports for slaughter, including Senator Don Plett, who retired from the Senate in 2025.

In a piece published last year in The Hill Times, Plett argued that this issue isn’t about animal welfare.

It’s mostly about misinformation and emotional manipulation, he said.

“The legislation (Bill C-355) was… a tool of animal activists who are ideologically opposed to the human consumption of horse meat.”

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed Canada in the second-last week of November had now met protocol conditions for Seneca Valley virus and has lifted the health certificate requirement, Manitoba Pork general manager Cam Dahl said.

Earlier this year, the U.S. started requiring a veterinary export certificate for cull sows from one Manitoba assembly yard following a rise in Seneca Valley virus cases at U.S. packing plants.  

Seneca Valley virus does not have serious veterinary implications, but it shares symptoms with much more worrisome illnesses like foot-and-mouth disease. If animals arrive at processing sites with these symptoms, an investigation is triggered to rule out the weightier diseases.  

Since September, all sows from one assembly yard in Manitoba had to be inspected and signed off by a veterinarian before they could cross the border — but finding a veterinarian to come out regularly was a challenge due to biosecurity issues.

There was a temporary shipping pause as those logistics were ironed out, Jenelle Hamblin, Manitoba Pork’s director of swine health, said in an interview earlier this month. 

While the policy impacted one site, Manitoba Pork became concerned that the certification requirement would be widely applied to assembly yards.

If it had been, Hamblin said, export of cull sows would have ground to a halt due to the resources required to inspect and certify the operations. 

Last summer, the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service had halted shipments from two Manitoba assembly yards for about a week due to the virus. 

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In a news release, Friday, the CGC simply stated it was repealing the alignment of primary and export tolerances for test weight and total foreign materials for Canada Western Red Spring, Canada Western Hard White Spring, Canada Western Extra Strong, Canada Western Soft White Spring and Canada Northern Hard Red.

It also repealed the alignment of total foreign material tolerances for Canada Western Amber Durum.

On July 27, traditional sparring partners the Wheat Growers Association (WGA) and National Farmers’ Union (NFU) issued a joint statement decrying the announced changes that would have seen the export grade standard applied to deliveries to country elevators.

They joined Sask Wheat and the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), who issued a statement on July 17 calling for a halt to the grading changes, calling them “ill-considered and finalized hastily” as well as alleging it was done without proper producer consultation.

Historically there have been primary and export standards for wheat, and the primary standard was applied at country elevators where farmers deliver their grain.

“The NFU and WGA disagree on many policy matters but are united in their opposition to the decision to harmonize primary and export standards for wheat,” the statement read.

Under current rules, wheat must weigh a minimum of 60.1 pounds a bushel, or it will be downgraded to no. 2 wheat. Under the proposed changes, which were to come into force August 1, they’d need to weigh at least 63.3 pounds per bushel to avoid downgrading.

“Farmers across the prairies will soon be harvesting wheat that under the current rules would be graded as #1, but as of August 1, 2023 they will be forced to sell it at lower prices as a #2 instead, if the changes by the Canadian Grain Commission come into effect as planned,” Daryl Fransoo, WGA chair, said in the statement.

Terry Boehm, former president of the NFU, said in the statement the current regulations recognize the variability of growing conditions across the region and that justifies the slightly lower bushel weight in the country under the current regulations.

“Loads that grade #1 under current rules often exceed the minimum standards, allowing grain companies to blend country deliveries to ensure the export standard is met when they assemble shipments at their port terminals,” Boehm said.

He added the grade change will “…take money from farmers’ pockets.”

The proposal was brought before the Western Standards Committee, which the WGA and NFU are both members of, and met with “…opposition from virtually all the farmers on CGC’s Western Standards Committee.”

Initially the WGA offered “cautious support.”

“The updated standards are founded on science-based outcomes regarding sprouting, test-weight and foreign material tolerances,” WGA said in a media release in June.

The Western Grain Elevators Association (WGEA) spoke in favour of the grading changes, saying the harmonized standards will make payment to farmers fair as it means farmers will be paid for the quality they grow.

Otherwise, they’re harkening back to the Canadian Wheat Board days, when wheat was pooled, and farmers were paid an averaged-out price, said Wade Sobkowich, WGEA’s executive director in an interview with the Manitoba Co-operator.

WGEA lobbied for standard harmonization, CGC records show.

Blending of high and low-quality wheat can only do so much, Sobkowich added. More stringent standards will allow grain handlers to meet customer specifications, otherwise companies may have to specify test weight or foreign matter standards in their contracts, he said. They don’t want the grading system to become irrelevant.

–Geralyn Wichers reports for the Glacier Farmmedia network from Steinbach, Man.

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The Wheat Growers Association (WGA) and National Farmers’ Union (NFU)have issued a joint statement decrying changes that will take effect August 1 which would see the export grade standard applied to deliveries to country elevators.

Historically there have been primary and export standards for wheat, and the primary standard was applied at country elevators where farmers deliver their grain.

Addressing the elephant in the room, the two groups noted the issue was broad enough that they chose to put aside their many differences.

“The NFU and WGA disagree on many policy matters but are united in their opposition to the decision to harmonize primary and export standards for wheat,” the statement reads.

They’ve also penned a joint letter to Lawrence MacAuley, the new federal agriculture minister, asking him to halt the change.

At the heart of the dispute is bushel weight. Under the current rules, wheat must weigh a minimum of 60.1 pounds a bushel, or it will be downgraded to no. 2 wheat. As of August 1 it must weigh at least 63.3 pounds per bushel to avoid downgrading.

“Farmers across the prairies will soon be harvesting wheat that under the current rules would be graded as #1, but as of August 1, 2023 they will be forced to sell it at lower prices as a #2 instead, if the changes by the Canadian Grain Commission come into effect as planned,” Daryl Fransoo, WGA chair, said in the statement.

Terry Boehm, former president of the NFU, said in the statement the current regulations recognize the variability of growing conditions across the region and that justifies the slightly lower bushel weight in the country under the current regulations.

“Loads that grade #1 under current rules often exceed the minimum standards, allowing grain companies to blend country deliveries to ensure the export standard is met when they assemble shipments at their port terminals,” Boehm said.

He added the grade change will “…take money from farmers’ pockets.”

The proposal was brought before the Western Standards Committee, which the WGA and NFU are both members of, and met with “…opposition from virtually all the farmers on CGC’s Western Standards Committee.”

Initially the WGA offered “cautious support.”

“The updated standards are founded on science-based outcomes regarding sprouting, test-weight and foreign material tolerances,” WGA said in a media release earlier this summer.

In the July 17 statement, Sask Wheat and the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), also called for a halt to the grading changes, calling it “ill-considered and finalized hastily” as well as alleging it was done without proper producer consultation.

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Vershinin was addressing a briefing about Russia’s decision on Monday to quit the year-old Black Sea grain deal, in which Russia had guaranteed safe passage to ships exporting grain from Ukraine’s seaports despite what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Russia said a parallel memorandum pledging to facilitate its own food and fertiliser exports had been ignored. Since then, it has said any vessels travelling to Ukraine will be assumed to be carrying weapons, and their flag countries will be considered parties to the war.

Ukraine has denied using the corridor for military purposes, but Vershinin alleged, without providing evidence, that there had been several instances of this.

“It was used – as we know, and we have also talked about it – to organise terrorist attacks,” he said.

“It was the Crimean Bridge, twice already; it was Sevastopol, remember last October.”

Attacks apparently carried out with naval drones have twice severely damaged the 19-km (12-mile) Crimean Bridge, a Russian flagship project that provides the only direct link between southern Russia and the Crimean peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine and annexed in 2014. It has also been used to supply Russian troops fighting in southern Ukraine.

Kyiv implicitly acknowledged carrying out the first attack, in October, and Ukrainian media reported this week that Ukrainian security services had carried out the second.

Also last October, Moscow accused Ukraine of attacking the home base of the Russian navy’s Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol, in Crimea, with naval drones that had travelled from the Ukrainian port of Odesa via the waters of the safe corridor.

It also said the ships targeted had been involved in ensuring the security of the grain corridor.

Meanwhile, Vershinin also said Russia is negotiating exports of food to countries most in need after quitting the Black Sea grain initiative, but has not yet signed any contracts.

Vershinin said Russia was sticking to its plans to compensate those countries for the grain they would not receive now that Russia has quit the year-old deal, in which it had guaranteed safe passage to ships exporting grain from Ukraine, despite its conflict with its neighbour.

“Agreements on this matter have not yet been signed, but contacts are under way and these contacts will continue,” Vershinin said.

–Reporting by Reuters

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Moscow suggested that if demands to improve exports of its own grain and fertilizer were met it would consider resurrecting the Black Sea agreement. However, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that a U.N. pact that helped Russia to make shipments over the past year was also terminated.

“Only upon receipt of concrete results, and not promises and assurances, will Russia be ready to consider restoring the deal,” said Russia’s foreign ministry.

Russia told the U.N. shipping agency – the International Maritime Organization (IMO) – that its “guarantees for the safety of navigation” had been revoked and that “proactive necessary actions and response measures to neutralize threats posed by the Kiev regime in the area will be taken.”

Insurers on Monday were reviewing whether to freeze cover for any ships willing to sail to Ukraine. The reaction on the grains market was modest, with U.S. wheat futures Wv1 up about 3% while U.S. corn futures Cv1 rose nearly 1%.

“I think there is market belief that Russia and the EU have large supplies of wheat which can meet world demand in the coming months, with harvests arriving,” one German trader said.

The Black Sea deal was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey in July last year to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia are among the world’s top grain exporters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday everything must be done so that the Black Sea grain export corridor continues to be used, his spokesperson said.

“Today’s decision by the Russian Federation will strike a blow to people in need everywhere,” U.N. chief Guterres told reporters.

The U.N. would continue trying to ensure unimpeded access to global markets for food products and fertilizers from Ukraine and Russia, Guterres said.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, described Moscow’s move as an “act of cruelty.”

Last ship has sailed

Nearly 33 million metric tons of corn, wheat and other grains have been exported by Ukraine under the arrangement. The last ship left Ukraine under the deal on Sunday.

To convince Russia to agree to the Black Sea deal, a three-year memorandum of understanding was struck in July 2022 under which U.N. officials agreed to help Russia get its food and fertilizer exports to foreign markets.

Russia’s main demands were the resumption of its ammonia exports through a pipeline to the Ukrainian port of Odesa and the reconnection of its state agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank to the SWIFT international payments system. It was cut off by the European Union in June last year after the invasion.

Guterres said on Monday that the U.N. had managed to create a “bespoke payments mechanism” for the Russian Agricultural Bank through U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase & CoJPM.N and “recently brokered a concrete proposal” with the European Commission to enable a Rosselkhozbank subsidiary to regain access to SWIFT.

But he signalled that all those efforts would end because Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea deal also terminated its pact with the U.N. on its own exports, under which Moscow had committed to “facilitate the unimpeded export of food, sunflower oil, and fertilizers from Ukrainian-controlled Black Sea Ports.”

Global hunger

Guterres had made a final attempt to save the Black Sea grain deal by writing to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday last week to ask him to extend it in exchange for the cooperation of the European Commission on Rosselkhozbank.

In a letter to Guterres on Monday, Russia said the options presented “are not feasible and will not ensure uninterrupted cross-border financial transactions,” Russia’s deputy U.N. envoy Dmitry Polyanskiy posted on Twitter. He said the letter informed Guterres that Moscow was terminating the Black Sea grain deal.

European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called Russia’s decision a “cynical move”, adding that the EU would continue to work towards ensuring food security for poor countries.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he believed Putin wants the continuation of the deal, adding that he will discuss it when they meet in person in August.

Russia had agreed three times in the past year to extend the Black Sea deal, but also briefly suspended its participation at the end of October in response to a drone attack on its fleet in Crimea.

There was concern about the impact the expiry of the pact would have on feeding the hungry worldwide.

Under the deal, the U.N. said its World Food Program (WFP) has procured 80% of its wheat so far in 2023 from Ukraine – up from 50% in 2021 and 2022. The WFP has shipped about 725,000 metric tons of Ukrainian wheat to Afghanistan, Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Yemen to fight hunger.

“Rations are being cut to children every day now across the world – it is utterly dramatic and this (deal) was one of the few glimmers of hope in this age of Biblical starvation,” said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

— Reporting by Reuters reporters; writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Michelle Nichols.

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The call comes as a longshore workers’ strike at British Columbia’s West Coast ports nears its second week, blocking the shipment of Canadian meat and most other exports.

Canadian Pork Council (CPC) chair Rene Roy said in a release Friday that hog producers “are seeking (Transport Minister Omar Alghabra’s) assistance to ensure perishable agricultural products, and farmers, do not suffer undue hardship from this labour action.”

Canada’s Labour Code specifies that longshore workers must continue to serve bulk grain vessels during such a work stoppage — although that requirement does not cover containerized traffic, which includes some pulse crops. A separate ad hoc agreement between the longshore workers’ union and port terminal management also allows longshore service for cruise ships during this strike.

“We believe a precedent already established for wheat is available to our agricultural industries,” Roy said Monday. “As representatives of Canada’s pork sector, we’re asking the minister to exercise his power as minister to ensure these products continue to move through all Canadian ports.”

In an interview Roy added that the CPC has been in communication with beef producers and other agricultural producers’ associations throughout the process.

Concerns are mainly over the meat’s perishability — and where it will end up if not shipped.

A majority of Canadian pork is exported to international markets, especially in Asia. Roy said this means that packers and distributors here in Canada will be left with an excess of meat at risk of going to waste.

“There are products that are already packed,” said Roy. “This is a real problem because it’s not frozen right now. It’s fresh.”

Many pork packers have limited storage capacity of their own, and “it’s really hard to find contracts really quickly to other countries in a really short period of time,” he said.

The CPC said in its release that unsold products will “create an environmental disposal challenge and lead to enormous waste and environmental damage — needlessly.”

Many Canadian pork processing plants set to close in the next few weeks could end up with a backlog of unsold meat products, which may lead to “millions of dollars in losses across agriculture very quickly,” according to the release.

These closures were largely a result of hardships faced by the sector in recent years, Roy said.

“The industry in general isn’t going through an easy period, both at the producer and at the processor level. We have experienced loss, financial loss in the last two years and this is one reason why we have seen closures.”

“We are we are requesting this from the government right now because it’s not the first time,” Roy said. “We have seen this happen in the past. Also, the strikes have affected us in the past.”

Roy said this call is not a sign that CPC does not support the strike itself, but a means to prevent widespread waste.

“We are not denying in any ways the right of workers to go on strike,” he said “It’s just that for perishable goods, we have to find a solution. It is not acceptable in our society to let go to waste such quantity of food.”

The B.C. Maritimes Employers Association, which represents port employers in labour talks, said in a separate release Monday that exports of other perishables via West Coast ports may also be in jeopardy.

Harvest season for major B.C. fruit exports “has just begun,” the BCMEA said, adding “up to 10 million pounds of blueberry exports are at risk, with Japan and South Korea as primary export destinations.”

Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan said Friday on Twitter that the BCMEA and ILWU Canada are “still working with mediators to reach a deal” and noted “government, industry and labour are all concerned about the consequences of this disruption.”

— Jonah Grignon reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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The Canadian Grain Commission on Tuesday announced changes in store effective Aug. 1 for how Canadian wheat is graded, along with a list of clarifications and new housekeeping rules for the grading of other crops it regulates.

For one, the CGC will update its Official Grain Grading Guide’s definition of “severely sprouted” as a grading factor for western classes of wheat, following research on how far sprouting has to advance to affect end-use quality.

Under the current rule, a kernel of wheat is classified as “regular sprouted” if it has sprouts that are visible but still “within the contours of the germ.”

To be classified instead as “severely sprouted,” a kernel today must either be clearly “severely degenerated,” or clearly sprouted beyond the contour of the germ — or it must show signs of a sprout that’s broken or missing, whether with or without clear evidence of a sprout’s length or severity.

It’s been given that a kernel deemed “severely sprouted” contains a higher level of alpha-amylase than a “regular sprouted” kernel, which has negative impacts on the wheat’s falling number, which in turn is an indicator of the soundness of the grain.

But the research done last year and this year at the CGC’s Grain Research Laboratory found kernels of Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and durum wheats that show a sprout broken or missing, without clear evidence of a sprout’s length or severity, had alpha-amylase activity and impact on falling number in the same range as in “regular sprouted” wheat, rather than the other forms of “severely sprouted” wheat.

Thus, starting Aug. 1, kernels of sprouted western wheats with sprouts broken or missing, but without any clear evidence of a sprout’s length or severity, will be redefined as “regular sprouted” rather than “severely sprouted.” The impact on end-use functionality, the lab found, was “similar to that of regular sprouted kernels.”

Tolerances

Among other changes scheduled to take effect Aug. 1, tolerances for test weight and total foreign material are being matched up in most classes of western wheat that until now had different tolerances for “primary” or “export” use.

Under the new rule, test weight and total foreign material tolerances will be aligned to the “export” tolerances for all grades of:

• Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS);
• Canada Western Hard White Spring (CWHWS);
• Canada Western Extra Strong (CWES);
• Canada Western Soft White Spring (CWSWS); and
• Canada Northern Hard Red (CNHR) wheats.

On a related note, total foreign material “primary” and “export” tolerances for Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) wheat will also be lined up to the “export” tolerances for all grades.

An “export” tolerance is used when grain is destined for a market overseas and is shipped out of the country through a terminal grain elevator. Such a tolerance is set based on research and is used to ensure milling quality expectations are met for end-use customers, the CGC said Tuesday.

A “primary” tolerance, meanwhile, is set lower than an export tolerance; it’s used when grain is delivered directly to a primary grain elevator within Canada.

Sieves

Among other changes taking effect in the Grain Grading Guide starting Aug. 1, the process for determination of dockage, in the canola chapter, will clarify the process and the different-sized sieves that should be used.

That change, the CGC said, comes in the wake of concerns raised by producers about “inconsistencies in the process used at delivery.”

The guide’s definition of “processed sample” will also be updated in all chapters, in the wake of issues with samples submitted to the CGC for official grades from which dockage was already removed.

The guide will also see adjustment to the composition of dockage to include insect parts, and the definition for insect parts will be adjusted in the lentils, beans, chickpeas and fababeans chapters.

Also, in the canary seed chapter, the composition of dockage will be adjusted to include the percentage of hulled seeds in dockage, and the definition of foreign material and hulled seeds will be adjusted accordingly. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Pressure has mounted on Brussels to work out a European Union-wide solution after Poland and Hungary banned some imports from Ukraine last weekend and other eastern European countries said they were considering similar action.

The countries became transit routes for Ukrainian grain that could not be exported through Ukraine’s Black Sea ports because of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

Bottlenecks then trapped millions of tons of grains in countries bordering Ukraine, forcing local farmers to compete with an influx of cheap Ukrainian imports which they said distorted prices and demand.

The European Commission said on Wednesday it would take emergency “preventive measures” for wheat, maize, sunflower seeds and rapeseed after a joint complaint from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia at the end of March.

An EU official said this would only allow the grains to enter the five countries from Ukraine if they were set for export to other EU members or to the rest of the world. This measure would last until the end of June.

Separately, the European Commission, which oversees trade policy for the 27-nation EU, plans an investigation into whether measures are required for other sensitive products.

While the emergency measures can enter force within days, an EU investigation typically lasts six months.

European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis discussed the plans on Wednesday with ministers from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, as well as with Ukrainian counterparts.

Romanian Farm Minister Petre Daea said Dombrovskis asked Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia to withdraw their individual import bans and that the Commission could approve a general ban of Ukrainian grain and oilseeds to the five countries affected until June 5.

Romania is the only country of the five affected that has not enforced a ban.

“We agreed today that we will continue these talks … The next meeting will be at the beginning of next week — Monday, Tuesday,” Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus told state-controlled broadcaster TVP Info.

“We, as frontline countries, will want to convince the European Union that we also want to protect other products,” he said, without providing further details.

Under the EU-Ukraine free trade agreement of 2016, imports of the most sensitive farm products from Ukraine were subject to tariffs and quotas. After Russia invaded Ukraine, the EU agreed to suspend all tariffs until June 2023 and the Commission has proposed extending this suspension for another year.

Poland, which is especially under pressure from its agricultural lobby in an election year, banned all grain imports, but agreed to allow grain to transit after discussions with Ukraine.

— Reporting for Reuters by Philip Blenkinsop; additional reporting by Anna Koper in Warsaw and Luiza Ilie in Bucharest.

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