Press Release: Agriculture: European Union suspends import duties on most cereals

The European Union unanimously agreed to suspend import duties on all cereals except oats, buckwheat and millet for the current marketing year - which ends on June 30, 2008. The decision, proposed last month by the European Commission, is a reaction to the exceptionally tight situation on the world and EU cereals markets and the record price levels. Although the current levels of border protection for cereals are rather low, import duties are still applied for certain types of grains that are important for the balance of the EU market.