Unilateral actions by European Union member states on trade are unacceptable, a European Commission spokesman said on Sunday, after Poland and Hungary announced bans on imports from Ukraine to protect the local agricultural sector, Reuters reported. In addition, on Sunday, Warsaw announced that the ban on the import of grain will also apply to the transit of this product through the country.

“We are aware of the announcement by Poland and Hungary to ban imports of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine,” the spokesman said in an emailed statement. “In this context, it is important to emphasize that trade policy is the exclusive competence of the EU and therefore unilateral actions are unacceptable.”

Poland and Hungary said on Saturday they had decided to ban imports from Ukraine to protect the local agricultural sector after a flurry of offers pushed down prices in the region. The Polish ban came into force on Saturday evening.

Poland also banned transit

The Minister of Development and Technology of Poland said on Sunday that the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain and other food products will also apply to the transit of these products through the country.

“The ban is complete, including the ban on transit through Poland,” Waldemar Buda wrote on Twitter, adding that negotiations will be held with the Ukrainian side to create a system that will ensure that goods will only pass through Poland and not enter the local market. .

Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food said on Saturday that the Polish ban contradicted existing bilateral export agreements and called for negotiations to resolve the issue.

As reported by the Ukrinform agency, a meeting of the ministers of the two states – Poland and Ukraine – will be held in Poland on Monday, at which the transit agreement will be discussed.

Ukraine exports most of its agricultural goods, especially grain, through Black Sea ports opened in July under an agreement between Ukraine, Turkey, Russia and the United Nations.

About 3 million tons of grain go through the Black Sea grain corridor from Ukraine every month, and only up to 200,000 tons go through the territory of Poland to European ports, the Ukrainian ministry notes.

The Minister of Agriculture of Ukraine, Mykola Solsky, said at the weekend that 500,000 to 700,000 tons of various agricultural products, including grain, oil, sugar, eggs, meat and other products, cross the border with Poland every month.