Eastern European farmers protest gluts of Ukraine food exports: The struggle to keep solidarity lanes open

Following fierce farm protests over gluts of Ukrainian grain and other food items in their domestic markets, four European Union countries—Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Hungary—have temporarily imposed import restrictions on key agricultural products from Ukraine. Restrictions in Bulgaria entered into force on April 24, and Romania, another EU member, has considered similar measures. The countries’ governments have stressed that these bans are temporary and imposed out of concern for their own farmers, who are seeing prices and incomes fall.

This unfolding situation has arisen because of problems with so-called “solidarity lanes”—alternate export routes from Ukraine through Europe set up in response to shipping disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine war. As Ukrainian food exports pile up in Eastern Europe, they are not reaching their intended destinations, posing risks to food security in poor countries.