Lithuanian farmers not opposed to export of Ukrainian agricultural products via Klaipeda port

MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) - Ukrainian grain exports do not pose a threat to Lithuanian farmers as they are shipped via Baltic ports for re-export, Ukrainian media reported, citing a statement by leader of the Lithuanian Union of Peasants and Greens (LVZS) Ramunas Karbauskis in the vz.lt podcast.

"Exports via Lithuania cannot pose a threat [for farmers], they can only pose a threat if there is a significant import from Ukraine for local consumption. Because Ukrainians are forced to sell grain much cheaper than on the world market, but in this case it is not as important for Lithuania as for the states bordering Ukraine," the Lithuanian publication delfi.lt quoted him as saying.

Lithuania purchases mainly corn to meet the needs of the domestic market, which is not direct competition for Lithuanian farmers, he said. Small quantities of Ukrainian agricultural products are exported via the port of Klaipeda, but this is a "re-export which does not affect the local market in any way."

As reported, the Lithuanian foreign, agriculture and transport ministers submitted proposals to the European Commission in August regarding the export of Ukrainian grain. In early October, Lithuania participated in talks with Ukraine and Poland, which resulted in an agreement to relocate veterinary, sanitary and phytosanitary controls from the Ukrainian-Polish border to the port of Klaipeda for all agricultural products bound for that port.