Russia 'uses food as a weapon', says Ukrainian Agriculture Ministry chief

Andrii Dykun, chairman of the Ukrainian Agricultural Council (UAC), accused Russia of using food as a weapon in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

The event, entitled “Rebuilding Ukrainian Agriculture,” was part of the Forum for the Future of Agriculture (photo), held in Brussels. It brought together representatives of European institutions, associations of EU member states and Ukraine to discuss strategies for aligning the Ukrainian agricultural sector with European standards.

Support for agriculture

The conference addressed key issues including financing plans for Ukrainian agricultural producers, access to EU and global food markets, as well as Ukraine's role in global food security and agri-food supply.

Mr. Dykun called for sanctions against Russian and Belarusian agricultural producers to help restore the Ukrainian agricultural sector. He stressed that Russian agriculture depends on European technologies, machinery and seeds. He advocated for a ban on exporting these products from the EU to Russia to hinder its agricultural development.

“Food as a weapon”

“Russia is using food as a weapon in the war against Ukraine,” Dykun said. “They blocked the Black Sea to prevent Ukrainian farmers from exporting their products and took control of our market in China. Many technologies and resources from the EU continue to flow into Russia. To stop Russia, we need to ban these exports.”

Dykun also argued that Ukraine's EU membership would improve trade relations and support global food security without burdening the EU budget.

“Ukraine does not need subsidies,” he said. “We need aid in the field of defense, not subsidies in the agri-food sector. We can increase soybean production for the EU and supply rapeseed for biofuel production. Ukraine can produce more than 10 million tons of sugar and support the EU dairy sector. The EU lacks growth potential in cattle breeding and dairy, but Ukraine has it.”