Minister Podgoršek stressed in the statement to the media that Slovenian farmers and consumers do not yet feel the impact of the war and that it is too early for estimates. The import of agricultural products from Ukraine to the European Union mainly consisted of maize, oilseed rape and sunflower seeds. Russia was an important supplier of cereals for the EU market and the biggest supplier of fuel and fertilisers.

Minister Podgoršek thanked the French Presidency for convening the extraordinary meeting and expressed deep sympathy and solidarity with the people of Ukraine. He estimated that it is an extremely difficult situation, which will not only affect agricultural and food sector in Ukraine, but also in the entire region and the European Union. The French Presidency recalled today that it is necessary to ensure food security in Ukraine and in areas that are the most affected and dependant on imports from Ukraine.

During the meeting, Minister Podgoršek stressed that it is vital for Slovenia to constantly monitor the situation on agricultural markets with regard to price pressure, the impacts of the additional price rise or even the lack of energy products and input materials, as well as the impacts of disruptions in trade flows or production on the food security in the EU and Ukraine. "Only by monitoring new developments, we can ensure timely and immediate action with all possible mechanisms, including the measures of the common market organisation and the contingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security in times of crisis. We expect an appropriate response from international organisations that are active in food security. At the same time, we must not forget farmers, who are the most affected by this situation, but who are also vital for food production. It is essential to provide additional available resources at the EU level, since the resources in the framework of the crisis reserve will not be sufficient," pointed out the Minister.

Minister Podgoršek added: "In Slovenia, we do not yet feel any direct impacts of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. We have, however, established regular contact with all relevant stakeholders in the field in order to obtain quick and direct information on market situation. On the basis of the analysis of the current situation, I would like to highlight that we depend on the import of basic materials for fertilisers. Therefore, we are worried about the supply of fertilisers in the spring months, the additional price rise and, consequently, higher prices of domestic food and feed production."

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food has set up a crisis working group on food security in light of the current situation in Ukraine. The key tasks of the working group are monitoring and analysing the situation on the food supply market to help manage this difficult situation, analysing the trade in goods between the Republic of Slovenia and Ukraine, determining the state of commodity reserves (in particular cereals and oilseeds), proposing measures for ensuring the smooth functioning of the food sector and drawing up reports for meetings at the national level. The Ministry established regular contact with all relevant stakeholders in the field in order to obtain quick and direct information on market situation.

Trade in goods between Ukraine and Slovenia and between Russia and Slovenia:

In 2020, trade in goods between Ukraine and Slovenia amounted to EUR 259.8 million, of which EUR 8.243 million (3.1%) consisted of trade in agricultural and food products. Trade in agricultural and food products consisted of EUR 5.497 million worth of exports and EUR 2.746 million worth of imports. The most important export products in 2020 were foodstuffs that were not available in the other country (baby foods, fruit infusions, preparations for non-alcoholic beverages, candies, etc.): EUR 1.8 million (EUR 3.2 million in the first 11 months of 2021). This was followed by the export of food preparations of flour in the amount of EUR 1.2 million (EUR 0.78 million in the first 11 months of 2021) and the export of curd in the amount of EUR 290,000 (EUR 460,000 in the first 11 months of 2021).

In 2020, we imported EUR 1.6 million worth of nuts from Ukraine to Slovenia. This was followed by the import of mineral waters and aerated waters in the amount of EUR 623,000. There was similar trade in goods in the first 11 months of 2021. Data for the entire year of 2021 is not yet available. Due to its natural conditions, Ukraine is a very big cereal producer and the world's largest exporter of sunflower oil, which is not exported to Slovenia.

In 2020, trade in agricultural and food products between Slovenia and the Russian Federation amounted to a total of EUR 57.3 million, which is EUR 4 million more than in 2019. Slovenian exports to the Russian Federation decreased by EUR 4.3 million, while Slovenian imports from the Russian Federation increased by EUR 8.4 million.

In 2020, Slovenia's exports of agricultural and food products to the Russian Federation were worth EUR 34.1 million. The exports mostly consisted of:

• Other foodstuffs in the amount of EUR 17.6 million (including baby foods),
• Preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk, pastrycooks' products (EUR 6.6 million)
• Beverages, spirits and vinegar (EUR 3.3 million)
• Preparations of meat, of fish or of crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates (EUR 2.9 million)
• Residues and waste from the food industries; prepared animal fodder (EUR 1.2 million)

In 2020, Slovenia's imports of agricultural products from the Russian Federation were worth EUR 23.3 million. They mainly consisted of fertilisers (EUR 16.3 million) and miscellaneous edible preparations (EUR 0.2 million).

EU statistics

Ukraine and Russia are now major players in the world market for cereals and oilseeds. Ukraine accounts for 11% of the world wheat market, 16% for barley, 15% for maize, 16% for rapeseed, 50% for sunflower seed oil, 9% for trade in sunflower seeds and 61% for sunflower cake. For Russia, these figures are 20% (wheat), 16% (barley), 2% (maize), 3% for rapeseed and 20% for sunflower cake.

Ukraine has become an important supplier to the EU: the primary supplier for maize (on average 9.2 MT - 57% of supplies), rapeseed (2 MT or 42% of European imports by volume), sunflower seeds (0.1 MT - 15%) and sunflower cake (1.3 MT - 47% of imports) and to a lesser extent wheat (1 MT - 30% of imports). Russia is also, but to a lesser extent, an important supplier to the EU for wheat (0.5MT - 11%) but mainly for rapeseed cake (0.2MT – 50%), sunflower cake (0.9MT – 34%) and sunflower seeds (0.3MT – 35%).

Export ban from EU countries, the US, Canada, Norway and Australia to the Russian Federation was imposed in 2014 for the following product groups: beef and pigmeat, processed meat, poultry, fish and seafood, milk and milk products, vegetables, fruit and nuts. The most important food product that Slovenia exports to the Russian Federation is baby food. Indirect impacts on the Slovenian market are possible due to the surpluses of agricultural products from other parts of the EU, the export of which is not prohibited, but which could seek new markets after the potential export ban to the Russian Federation. In recent years, Slovenian companies imported a lot of chemical fertilisers from the Russian Federation. In 2020, they imported EUR 28 million worth of chemical fertilisers, which is one quarter of the overall import of chemical fertilisers.