The UAC Chairman Andrii Dykun met in the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania with the Chairman of the Committee on Economic Affairs Kazis Starkevicius, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Žygimantas Pavilionis, Chairman of the Committee on Rural Affairs Viktoras Pranckietis, and members of these three committees.

Kazis Starkevičius opened the meeting with the words of Stepan Bandera: "When people choose bread over freedom, they eventually lose everything, including bread. If people choose freedom, they will have bread grown by themselves and not taken away by anyone."

"Ukrainians have chosen freedom, so they remain with bread and with the world's support. We, Lithuanians, are sure that if it hadn’t been your fight against the enemy, there would have been occupiers on our territory. Therefore, Ukraine's victory is Lithuania's victory. We also understand how important the agricultural sector is for Ukraine, and that our common enemy is using food security in its fight against the whole world, blackmailing and threatening with famine," said Mr. Starkevicius.

The Committee Chairman emphasized that Russians are doing everything possible to disrupt grain exports from Ukraine, and the transit of agricultural products from Ukraine has become particularly difficult after Poland and some other countries in the region suspended imports due to fears of falling grain prices in their countries.

"We are in constant communication with the Ukrainian Agri Council. Together with the authorities and the UAC, we are looking for ways to solve the logistical problems of grain transportation in Ukraine, and a number of joint events were organized to discuss them in various formats. We hope that by working together we will be able to find the best solutions," said Mr. Starkevicius.

According to Andriy Dykun, three main conditions could significantly improve the situation in Ukraine: "green" transit corridors, logistics subsidies and intervention grain purchases.

"It's a shame, but today Ukrainian grain barely crosses the border with Poland, there are not enough inspectors in Poland, and the entire logistics process takes a lot of time. We want grain to be able to go directly to Lithuanian and German ports. Ukraine could transport 2 million tons, but we only transport 500-600 thousand tons. For Ukrainian farmers who cannot export grain across the Black Sea, the most important thing is that their products reach European ports, and this is impossible without subsidies. Today, the losses from the existing logistics are very high, so it is unprofitable to export Ukrainian goods through European ports without subsidies," said Andriy Dykun, the UAC Chairman.

According to the UAC Chairman, this year's surplus of oilseeds and grains in Ukraine may amount to about 30 million tons, as the harvest will be about 25-30% higher than last year due to good weather.

The participants of the UAC also noted that grain is currently exported abroad through the Danube ports, but this route increases the cost of one ton of grain by USD60-70, and the losses incurred by the country's farmers reach 10 billion euros.

According to the Chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Economic Affairs, Kazis Starkevicius, the option of intervention purchases of surplus grain is being considered, which has been used before - if the price of grain falls below 100 EUR/t, it can be bought back for storage, thereby supporting market prices.

The participants of the meeting, Case Huzinga, a Dutchman who has been living and working in Ukraine for 25 years, and Serhii Sharapov, whose farm is under occupation, agreed with the views of the participants, noting that they would like other countries to understand and support Ukraine as Lithuania does.

"If all three points identified by the chairman of the UAC are implemented, Ukraine will receive money for its products, which will help it to survive now and be recovered later, because Ukrainian communities rely on farmers. It is important to prevent the emptying of villages and what is vital is to sell grain," said Mr. Huzinga.

Summarizing the meeting, Kazis Starkevicius, Chairman of the Seimas Economic Affairs Committee, noted that every effort would be made to find the best solutions to implement the identified measures - green transit corridors, logistics subsidies, and intervention grain purchases.

All three issues of support for Ukrainian grain exporters are scheduled to be discussed at a joint meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Polish and Lithuanian parliamentarians in the fall.