Christophe Hansen, the EU's agriculture commissioner, said the bloc has an "important role" in global food security as a major agri food exporter. He said the EU is looking at "at all possible lanes" to keep Ukrainian grain flowing and is coordinating to soften the financial blow from extreme weather for farmers.
Hansen warned that if European harvests shrink, the ripple effects won't stop at the EU's borders. He sent a letter on Tuesday urging national governments to "assess rapidly" which current Common Agricultural Policy flexibilities they can deploy. The push to support Ukraine's exports includes so called solidarity lanes, but shallow water on the Danube has made that work harder.
The Commission's letter did not introduce fresh CAP measures. It pointed to options already available, such as applying force majeure for certain producers, relaxing some funding conditions, increasing support via the emergency fertilizer plan, and paying out CAP funds earlier than scheduled.
Brussels is working with member states to counter the hit from the summer's heat and drought on agriculture, aiming to keep farms operating and food supply stable without layering on new rules.
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Across the region, drought has reduced farm production, and attacks around the Black Sea are limiting shipments from Russia and Ukraine. Wheat and corn benchmarks have pushed to multi year highs, and Paris wheat futures are at a two year peak, with prices referenced to Euronext data.
Another indicator is sending a signal: the Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index, which covers 10 major commodities, rose by more than 13% in August, marking its biggest monthly gain in over a decade. EU agriculture ministers will take up the drought's impact when they gather in Ireland next week, with another round of talks set in Brussels later this month.
For anyone buying groceries or running a small farm, the takeaway is simple enough: weather, war and policy are tugging prices around, and how governments use existing tools could affect what you pay and what farmers earn.