Russian invasion in Ukraine has piled pressure on Europe’s farmers

The EU obtains half its corn feed from Ukraine and a third of its fertilizer from Russia. As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine squeezes grain supplies and sends the price of energy and other inputs rocketing, the cost of animal feed, fertilizer, and fuel has soared for farmers across Europe.

Farmers said they cannot immediately pass on such rapid cost increases to customers, leading to cash flow problems.

As a result, an average farmer selling 300 pigs a week faces weekly losses of €18,000, said farmers in Ireland, where a “Save our Bacon” protest took place at the end of March, 2022.

Spain, Europe’s largest pork producer can also face serious problems with animal feed as about 22% of the corn fed to its livestock comes from Ukraine.

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