Slovakia is temporarily banning imports of Ukrainian grain, following moves by Poland and Hungary to block shipments over concerns they’re hurting their domestic markets.
(Bloomberg) — Slovakia is temporarily banning imports of Ukrainian grain, following moves by Poland and Hungary to block shipments over concerns they’re hurting their domestic markets.
The bans by the three eastern European Union nations underscore splinters in the bloc’s efforts to support Ukraine. Member states have voiced dissent over issues including arming Kyiv, banning Russian energy imports and helping the war-ravaged country to export food that helps feed millions in developing nations.
Poland and other neighboring nations had agreed to help Ukraine — a crucial grain supplier — to move its cargoes through their territory after Russia’s invasion temporarily blocked Black Sea exports last year. But part of that supply is now piling up in eastern Europe. That’s adding pressure on local farmers as global grain prices have slumped from last year’s peak.
A Grain Glut Is Straining the Goodwill That Ukraine Badly Needs
Slovakia on Monday didn’t say why it is halting imports of grain and other selected products from Ukraine. Last week, the country said it was tightening rules over Ukrainian supplies and local media reported an inspection found that some Ukrainian grain stored in Kolarovo exceeded dangerous pesticide levels.
The EU at the weekend slammed the decisions by Poland and Hungary to ban imports from Ukraine, saying “unilateral actions” were unacceptable and a potential breach of the bloc’s trade policy. The governments of Hungary and Poland have blamed the EU for allegedly being slow to address the plight of farmers there.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko will join a government delegation that’s due to arrive in Warsaw on Monday for talks to resolve the grain glut, Polish private radio RMF FM reported on its website, without saying where it got the information.
Ukraine expects that agreements will be made to restore transit, according to Denys Marchuk, deputy chair of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council.
“Our farmers work in the most terrible conditions and agriculture is almost the only area that allows the country to earn foreign currency income,” Marchuk said.
–With assistance from Michael Winfrey and Olesia Safronova.
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