Spain urges the European Commission to be able to buy Argentine corn due to a shortage in Ukraine

Spanish Agriculture Minister Luis Planas said Wednesday that he is urging the European Commission to suspend controls on imports of corn for animal consumption due to shortages in the supply of the cereal after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking before the Spanish parliament, Planas pointed out that although there are already European Commission projects to increase the planting area in Europe, including allowing the agricultural use of fallow land, they could in no way replace imports from outside the bloc.

“I proposed that the import mechanisms be made more flexible in order to be able to buy corn in third countries, in particular Argentina,” he explained. “We have stock available, but we need to activate purchases in the next 60 days.”

Argentine corn contains pesticide residues not authorized in Europe. However, Planas said that “there is no risk” for consumers of this presence.

Important buyers of maize for animal consumption, including the Benelux, Iberian, Middle Eastern and North African nations, depend on Ukraine as their main supplier of cattle feed.

Since the Russian invasion, these buyers have turned to other European Union (EU) maize producers, notably Romania, Bulgaria and France, to fill their gaps, although they are now expanding the scope of their potential imports.

With no exact date for a debate on the issue among European nations or a decision from Brussels, and with Spanish maize reserves expected to last a few more weeks, private Spanish groups have been pressuring Madrid to act unilaterally at the risk of lose before other buyers.

“If Spain waits to make a joint decision in the EU, other countries like Germany or France could go ahead and there would not be enough corn for everyone. Spain has to act first,” said Jorge de Saja, director of the Spanish Confederation of Composite Food Manufacturers.

According to the confederation, Spain has four weeks of corn reserves left and six weeks of crude sunflower oil, which is also used for animal feed.

“We cannot wait for the March 21 (EC) meeting because we would have to start planning the slaughter of herds or chickens,” de Saja added.

However, a spokesman for the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture said that a unilateral decision was impossible, pointing out that it is the European Commission that must authorize the exceptions in relation to the purchase of producers from third countries.

“We can supply Spain”

Argentina’s chamber of grain exporters and processors CIARA-CEC had confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday that it was in talks with the Spanish government and private sectors about possible corn exports and that it was ready to move forward.

Gustavo Idígoras, head of CIARA-CEC, said that Argentina’s corn supply for the 2021-2022 cycle, which is currently in its initial harvest stages, can supply any shortage of cereal in Spain.

“With half a month (of corn exports) from Argentina we could be supplying Spain with its needs,” said the head of the chamber of Argentina, the world’s second largest exporter of corn.

Although a drought affected the development of the crop between December and January, the Buenos Aires Cereal Exchange forecasts that the Argentine corn harvest will be 51 million tons.

In turn, Idígoras explained that Lebanon, Egypt and Azerbaijan were also interested in corn from Argentina, the vast majority of which is of transgenic origin.