On Tuesday, Ukraine appealed to the European Commission not to extend after June 5 the temporary restrictions on the import of four Ukrainian agricultural products to Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary, citing that this decision caused “difficulties” for the Ukrainian agricultural sector.

To help Ukraine after the war started by Russia against this country in February last year, the EU suspended tariffs and other trade protection measures on Ukrainian imports, including grain and other food products, EFE and Agerpres agencies remind.

During this time, large volumes of Ukrainian grain that would have transited to Eastern European states only through the “solidarity corridors” (created to help Ukraine export grain after it could no longer use its Black Sea seaports) remained in these countries, where they were sold below the prices that local producers can offer, and this is due to the fact that Ukrainian grain was not imposed by Brussels regarding compliance with European quality standards.

All this deformed the markets of Eastern European countries and caused losses to the farmers of these countries, which were only partially compensated by compensations approved by the European Commission.

Therefore, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria temporarily banned the import of some Ukrainian agri-food products, especially grain, after which the European Commission reached an agreement at the end of April with these four countries, as well as Romania, to guarantee the transit of Ukrainian grain in exchange for “exceptional protective measures” , applied to four Ukrainian agricultural products, namely: wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower.

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Ukraine does not rule out an appeal to the World Trade Organization

Now Ukraine opposes the extension of this agreement after June 5. “We are against and believe that this is an incorrect action (limiting imports from Ukraine, – ed.),” Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy Mykola Solskyi told the press in Brussels after a meeting with ministers of agriculture. from EU countries.

The Ukrainian minister said that “a few days” after the European Commission agreed to limit the import of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine to Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary, the Ukrainian agricultural sector began to face a problem. great difficulties” with the export of grain from the country.

He assessed that “it’s normal to have discussions” between “friends and members of the same family”, alluding to the five Eastern European countries most affected by the liberalization of imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, but he also named other “potential problems”, including which “biggest” would be for Russia to take advantage of the situation.

That is why, the Ukrainian official explained, the government in Kyiv wants the EU executive not to extend the corresponding import restrictions in the five mentioned EU states, and if Brussels does not comply with this request, then Ukraine does not rule out the possibility of appealing to the World Trade Organization, adding, however, that the Ukrainian government does not want “new difficult situations”.

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