Spain relaxes the rules for importing maize from Argentina and Brazil

The Spanish government announced on Tuesday a temporary easing of phytosanitary rules for importing corn for animal feed from Argentina and Brazil, given the risks of shortage due to the war in Ukraine.

“We took an important step forward by lifting those limitations on imports” of maize for livestock, the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, said Tuesday after a Council of Ministers.

This measure, taken after the authorization of the European Commission, will ensure “provisioning” in Spain, made difficult by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he added.

Spain, which imports a quarter of the maize it consumes from Ukraine, has been pressuring Brussels for days to increase the maximum authorized level of pesticide residues for corn imports.

It achieved its goal last Friday at a meeting of a technical committee of the European Commission, which authorized EU member states to temporarily repeal existing restrictions in order to avoid shortages.

“This measure solves the technical problems posed by the import sector while offering certainty and flexibility, without compromising food security,” the Ministry of Agriculture welcomed in a statement.

Ukraine, the world's fourth largest corn exporter, last year supplied Spain with some 1.9 million tons of cereal. These imports are crucial for the Spanish livestock sector, one of the most important in Europe.

This situation implies a certain “vulnerability”, Minister Luis Planas acknowledged on Monday in a meeting with the press. However, the minister has denied any possibility of food shortages in Spain.

Several international agencies have expressed concern about the consequences of the war in Ukraine, considered the “granary of Europe”, on world food security.

Most of the cereals produced in Ukraine are exported in summer and autumn. The longer the war lasts, the more exports will be compromised, with significant effects, particularly in Africa, warned the World Food Programme (WFP).

GVAB/AT/MB