European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Mariann Fischer Boel announced here Wednesday she will propose in the coming days the total suspension of cereal import duties for the European Union (EU)'s current marketing year, which ends on June 30, 2008, to boost cereals imports.

The proposal, which was put to EU agriculture ministers who met in Brussels on Wednesday, is a reaction to the exceptionally tight situation on the cereals markets and the record high price levels, said the European Commission.

According to the commission, although the actual levels of border protection for cereals are rather low, import duties are still applied for certain types of grains that are relevant for the balance of the EU market. Meanwhile, there are no export refunds on cereal exports.

The proposal by Fischer Boel would have to be approved by EU ministers.

The cereals market is currently characterized by historically high prices.

The 2007 cereals crop in the EU is now estimated below last year's level because of dry and unusually hot weather in April followed by adverse summer weather in western EU member states and drought and heat-waves in southeast Europe.

This outlook is likely to lead to a further reduction in the EU of private cereal stocks by the end of the current marketing year. At global level, closing stocks in 2007/2008 are expected to fall to a historically low level, especially in the major exporting countries.