EC on Hungarian and Polish bans of Ukrainian grain imports: unilateral steps are unacceptable

Unilateral trade measures by EU Member States are unacceptable, a European Commission spokesperson said on Sunday, reacting to the imposition of import bans on Ukrainian agricultural products by Poland and Hungary, citing the protection of the local agricultural sector.

"We are aware of announcements by Poland and Hungary to ban imports of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine. It is important to underline that trade policy is an exclusive competence of the EU and unilateral action is not acceptable. At this challenging time, it is essential to coordinate all decisions within the EU," the Commission stated in its Communication.

Before the war, Ukraine was one of the world's biggest grain exporters, but the Russian offensive left some of its farmland under Russian control while the fighting made harvesting impossible in other areas. The stocks of grain in storage could not be exported because of the Russian naval blockade, and, following the withdrawal of some Russian grain from the world market due to the introduced sanctions, the price of wheat and therefore bread rose sharply, especially in third world countries which were the outlets for Ukrainian grain. With Turkish assistance, ships partially loaded with Ukrainian wheat were subsequently dispatched through the Black Sea, but some of the Ukrainian grain ended up in Europe rather than in its former destination countries.

Hungarian Agriculture Minister István Nagy said on Saturday that the continuation of the current domestic market trends would cause serious damage to Hungarian agriculture, and that "extraordinary measures must be taken to prevent this." He added that Ukrainian products were benefiting from cheap production, practices not allowed in the EU, duty-free and free trade opportunities, all of which have made it impossible for domestic and central European farmers to sell their products.

Hungary's restriction is temporary, and will last until 30 June 2023. During this period, the government expects a lasting solution and EU measures to be put in place, as well as a rethinking of the full duty-free treatment of Ukrainian goods and the functioning of the solidarity corridors.

On Saturday, the Ukrainian ministry of agricultural policy and food said the Polish ban contradicted existing bilateral export agreements and called for talks to resolve the issue. According to the Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform, Ukrainian and Polish ministers will meet in Poland on Monday and the transit agreement will also be discussed.

(Reuters)