Poland and Hungary have decided to temporarily ban the import of grain from Ukraine. This happened last Saturday after persistent protests from farmers. The ban lasts until June 30, and also applies to imports of sugar, eggs, meat, milk, fruit and vegetables, among other things.
The European Commission called the step “unacceptable” on Sunday in a statement, because “the right to make trade policy belongs exclusively to the EU.” Import bans imposed unilaterally are not allowed and ‘will not be tolerated’, the Commission says, without going into detail about possible measures. “In such difficult times, it is crucial to coordinate and harmonize all decisions within the EU.”
According to the Polish government, the decision is necessary to protect farmers who fear losing their income due to an overabundance of Ukrainian grain on the market. Silos in Poland are full of Ukrainian grain, which appears on the local market against agreements.
Blockade Black Sea
Ukraine regrets the decision and says the ban is contrary to existing agreements. “We understand that Polish farmers are in a difficult situation, but we would like to emphasize that Ukrainian farmers are currently in the most difficult situation,” the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture wrote. in a comment. On Monday, the ministers of Ukraine and Poland will meet to discuss the issue.
Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, trade via the Black Sea is severely hampered because ports are blocked. The European Commission then introduced it in May last year an action plan to stimulate the export of agricultural goods from Ukraine, via transit countries such as Poland and Hungary. Through these ‘solidarity corridors’, Ukrainian foodstuffs would not compete with European countries, but would be exported directly to the African continent and the Middle East. In recent weeks, this has not always been the case in practice.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, said at a party rally last weekend that the Polish countryside is “experiencing a crisis” and that while continuing to support Ukraine, the country is forced to protect its own farmers.
Additional grant
Earlier this month, the grain crisis even cost Polish Agriculture Minister Henryk Kowalczyk his job. He was unable to satisfy the Polish farmers, who have been demonstrating in the country for weeks. While that group of voters is very important to the PiS party and there will be elections next fall.
Several neighboring countries of Ukraine have complained in recent weeks that Ukrainian grain is flooding their land. The Romanian Ministry of Agriculture calculated earlier this month that Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia together are missing out on more than 400 million euros in income due to the influx of Ukrainian grain. While the European Commission has announced some 50 million euros in support measures.
Neighboring countries want import duties on Ukrainian agricultural products to be reintroduced and are asking for extra subsidies from the European Union for the construction of better infrastructure and ‘humanitarian’ purchase of their grain, according to a letter sent by the five leaders of the ‘solidarity corridors’ the end of March sent to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. The committee has not yet taken any action on this.
Solidarity of Eastern European farmers with Ukraine is declining
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of April 17, 2023.