Authorities in Slovakia have discovered pesticide residues in a shipment of 1,500 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat, raising concerns about food safety. Slovakian Minister of Agriculture Samuel Vlčan confirmed that three laboratories found pesticides in the wheat shipment. The Slovakian authorities are uncertain about whether the concentration of these substances poses a risk to human health. One of the Slovakian mills was responsible for processing the shipment with higher concentrations of pesticides, which the authorities intercepted before tightening the rules on transporting grain from Ukraine through Slovakia. In response to the discovery, the Czech Ministry of Agriculture announced that it would tighten checks on the transit of agricultural commodities through the Czech Republic.

Last year, the European Union permitted the export of agricultural products from Ukraine in response to Russian aggression, allowing Ukrainian grain to reach countries in North Africa and the Middle East, which were previously off-limits. Ukrainian farmers took advantage of the opportunity, and between February 2022 and January 2023, 3.526 million tonnes of wheat were imported into EU countries, a tenfold increase over the previous year.

However, Czech farmers, mainly from Poland and other countries, complain about the import of cheap wheat from Ukraine. The Czech Agricultural Chamber and the Czech Agricultural Union warn that Czech farmers face problems selling part of last year’s crop on the European market due to the import of Ukrainian grain. The Czech Ministry of Agriculture, however, confirmed that no problematic cereal samples were detected by inspections last year.

The ministry warned that if the trend of increasing imports of Ukrainian wheat into the EU continued, it could harm European farmers, who must comply with much stricter cultivation conditions than entities from countries outside the EU. Therefore, the Czech Ministry of Agriculture will tighten checks on the transit of agricultural commodities through the Czech Republic.

The safety of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products is of great importance to the EU and its member states. The presence of pesticides in the shipment to Slovakia is concerning and highlights the need for rigorous checks on imported agricultural products. If the EU continues to allow the import of agricultural products from Ukraine, it must ensure that they meet EU safety standards to protect the health of European consumers and the livelihoods of European farmers.

Article by Prague Forum