This was possible because, under the Marrakesh agreements, import duties were calculated every fortnight on the basis of the difference between the world reference price and 155% of the intervention price; the Commission had opted to take the price quoted on the Chicago commodity exchange for US wheat plus the transatlantic cif costs as the world reference price; however, during these marketing years, the reference price calculated in this way was permanently around the 155% ceiling, allowing wheat from the Black Sea region to enter the EU duty-free or at very low rates of duty, resulting in a total price (FOB plus freight plus import duties) much lower than the price of Commun ...[+++]ity wheat.

– (FR) The issue of wheat from the Black Sea is symptomatic of the systematic refusal by the Commission to apply the principle of Community preference, of which it is, however, the guardian according to the Treaties.

Offer prices for Black Sea wheat are not consistent with sustainable production: farmers do not have sufficient storage capacity, and organisations buying up wheat come to agreements among themselves over their market radius; the prices at which they buy wheat in from producers (€40 to €60/T), even taking account of the very low property taxes and social costs, cannot equate with the cost of production ensuring sustainable, socially responsible and environmentally-friendly farming.

These quotations have until now been considered as representative for world market prices although they are higher than the quotations applied in the Black Sea area, known as "Odessa quotations"; Chicago quotations do not reflect market prices for wheat flows between Ukraine and Russia and the European Community.