Ukraine asked the EU for €220 million to support farmers due to the blockade of ports — the European Commission is considering this issue

Ukraine has asked the European Commission to allocate €220 million in non-repayable aid to support small and medium-sized agricultural producers affected by export problems following Russian attacks on ports. The European Commission confirmed that it had received the request, but has not yet given a timeframe for a decision. The EU wants to first assess the situation with the future harvest, its storage and export logistics.

This was stated by European Commission spokespeople Luisa Bogi and Balazs Ujvari at a briefing on August 13, reports a Babel correspondent in Brussels.

"We are closely monitoring the situation in the Black Sea and the blockade caused by Russian shelling. We are also assessing the consequences this has for agriculture and the economy in general," Ujvari said.

He added that the European Commission is also consulting with the Ukrainian, Romanian and Moldovan authorities, as well as with companies, to assess the possibilities of alternative export routes through the "solidarity corridors".

European Commission spokeswoman Louise Boghi explained that before determining further measures, Brussels needs to assess several factors. First, the European Commission wants to see how the Ukrainian harvest will go in the coming months. Second, to assess how the harvest will compare to the available storage capacity.

And third, to get a clear picture of export logistics, in particular, routes across the Black Sea and the current functioning of the "solidarity corridors".

"I canʼt give you specific deadlines. We still need to do an analysis, and then we will propose specific solutions," Boghi said.

What preceded

The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food published a statement on August 7 asking the European Commission for €220 million to support farmers due to the port blockade.

These funds are intended to be directed to the state program "Affordable Loans 5-7-9%", which provides for preferential lending to micro, small and medium-sized businesses. This step should help enterprises that, due to Russian attacks on the ports of Greater Odesa, have lost the opportunity to export their products without hindrance, to receive funds to continue their work and conduct the autumn sowing campaign.

The prolonged blockade of ports is creating a large-scale financial crisis for the agricultural sector. According to the ministry, in the 2026-2027 marketing year, Ukraine should export about 64.4 million tons of agricultural products. At the same time, due to prolonged restrictions on the operation of seaports, exports may be reduced by almost half — to about 29.6 million tons.

As early as October, harvest storage facilities could be fully filled, and by November, more than 9 million tons of grain and oilseeds risk being left without storage facilities.

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