Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi met with Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of the Kingdom of Spain Luis Planas Puchades in the framework of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council.

Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy Markiyan Dmytrasevych also took part in the talks.

The parties discussed the situation in the Ukrainian agricultural sector. In particular, the export and transit of Ukrainian agricultural products and support for farmers.

Mykola Solskyi said that active work was being done to increase the volume of agricultural exports. According to him, more than 20 ships with various cargoes, including agricultural products, have already left the ports of Odesa in September-October.

According to the Minister, the volume of transit of agricultural products through the Danube and Romanian ports, such as Constanța, is also increasing.

The Minister said that this year's harvest was expected to reach over 79 million tonnes. That is 10% more than last year.

At the same time, Mykola Solskyi noted that port infrastructure was suffering from constant shelling, so Ukraine needed to strengthen its air defence. Support is also needed for Ukrainian farmers who have suffered from Russia's full-scale invasion.

For his part, Luis Planas Puchades said that Spain was following developments closely and would continue to support Ukraine. Among other things, it supports the expansion of export routes so that Ukrainian farmers can sell their agricultural products.

The EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting is taking place on 23-24 October in Luxembourg.