Slovakia joined the ban on the import of grain from Ukraine

The authorities of Slovakia on Monday imposed a temporary ban on the import of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine. This is done in order to protect local manufacturers. Earlier, such a ban was introduced by Poland and Hungary. Bulgaria is now considering the introduction of the same measures.

In May 2022, the European Union temporarily canceled import duties and quotas on the import of grain from Ukraine as a measure to support the economy of the warring country. In addition to grain, duties and quotas were also canceled on other Ukrainian agricultural products, including oilseeds, sugar, poultry and eggs.

This caused dissatisfaction among farmers in countries bordering Ukraine. Due to the lack of duties, the influx of cheap Ukrainian production has led to a decrease in the competitiveness of their own production. They cannot reduce the prices of their products, and their production becomes unprofitable.

Brussels offered a total of 56.3 million euros as compensation to the affected farmers. From this amount, Poland will receive almost 30 million euros, Bulgaria – 16.7 million, and Romania – 10 million. The decision was approved by the EU countries on March 30. But the authorities of the affected countries consider these payments too small, and the measures insufficient.

On March 31, the governments of Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria appealed to the European Commission with a request to return quotas and duties on Ukrainian agricultural products. They emphasized that such a measure is necessary to protect the interests of their own agriculture.

However, the European Commission published a project to extend the duty-free and quota-free import of grain from Ukraine for another hour, from June 2023 to June 5, 2024. After that, the Minister of Agriculture of Poland Henryk Kowalczyk resigned. On March 15, Poland and Hungary introduced a unilateral temporary ban on the import of Ukrainian grain.

The European Commission criticized the unilateral measures, emphasizing that the trade policy should be coordinated at the level of the European Union. The Ministry of Food and Agrarian Policy of Ukraine also stated that the bans contradict existing bilateral export agreements. The department called for negotiations to settle the issue.