Some aspects of food security in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe

Among the complex of issues dealt with by the theory of food security, the problems of the impact on food inflation, which especially grew in the Visegráld countries and Albania in the 2nd-3rd quarter of 2022, are being studied. The focus of the paper is on researching the possibilities of increasing the product supply due to imports. The countries selected for the study demonstrated a common strategy to use the problems with the export sales of grain experienced by Russia and Ukraine in 2022 in the interests of developing their own infrastructure and increasing the security of national grain markets, as well as to strengthen the ruling political forces. However, due to multiple differences between the countries (the level of self-sufficiency in grain crops, the degree of geographical proximity to Ukraine, the availability of financial resources, etc.), they chose different tactical models: the Visegrad countries and Romania, despite the rhetoric of solidarity with countries with a high level of food insecurity, are aimed at obtaining additional financial dividends from their role as transit countries for Ukrainian grain; Albania, due to its geographical remoteness from Ukraine, the closure of Ukrainian ports before the start of a grain deal and small financial reserves, is forced to focus on other available sources of grain.

food security, Visegrad countries, Albania, Romania, food inflation, crops