Agriculture Minister Murray Watt meets with Ukrainian minister to tackle global war supply chain issue

During the meeting, which took place via video link, Murray Watt and Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solsky discussed the current war effort and ways to solve the issues surrounding the exportation of Ukrainian agricultural products.

"Ukraine plays an important role in the global supply of food, fertiliser, fuel and timber," Mr Watt said.

"The Russian occupation has had a massive impact on the Ukrainian people, but also on global supply chains and food security."

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Mr Solsky said although there was no shortage of product, it was difficult to export as about half the country's ports were out of action due to the war.

Pressure on the grain corridor had eased, Mr Solsky said, but there was more work to do and suggested the trade heavyweights of the USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, Argentina and EU countries promote value-added agricultural products by adopting similar standards.

"Currently, customs restrictions on the export of Ukrainian grain have been lifted, but we cannot say the same about processed products," Mr Solsky said.

"Each country has its own restrictions on different markets. If we are all in favour of free markets, then it would be right to provide Ukraine with the opportunity to supply processed products, such as meat and other processed products."

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Mr Watt said both Australia and Ukraine were heavily invested in the agricultural industry, particularly the grain sector, and their goals aligned when it came to value-adding.

"Australia has strongly supported Ukraine during the conflict with Russia and I was pleased to be able to express that personally to the Minister," Mr Watt said.

"I look forward to working with Ukraine, as we pursue those goals."