Ukraine criticized a decision by the Polish government on Saturday to ban imports of Ukrainian agricultural goods, including products intended for other countries, saying it violated a prior agreement between the two countries.
Late Saturday, Hungary joined Poland in banning agricultural imports from Ukraine, with both governments saying the restrictions would remain in place until the end of June.
Warsaw’s measure was announced by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki following an emergency cabinet meeting on the influx of Ukrainian goods into Poland.
“We will never leave farmers without help. That’s why we have specific measures [including] a ban on grain entry from Ukraine to Poland,” Morawiecki said in a tweet.
Ukraine’s agriculture ministry said it regretted Poland’s decision. “The Ministry of Agrarian Policy, for its part, has always been sympathetic to the situation in the Polish agricultural sector and responded promptly to various challenges,” the ministry said in a statement. “At present, unilateral drastic actions will not accelerate the positive resolution of the situation.”
Last week, Poland announced it had agreed with Ukraine to temporarily stop all imports of grain intended for the Polish market. At a joint press conference by the Polish and Ukrainian agriculture ministers, Poland’s Robert Telus said transit products destined for other countries would not be restricted. Since then, the two governments have been negotiating details of the agreement and Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi was due to travel to Warsaw to sign the final deal on Monday.
The ban comes as the Polish government struggles to appease its own farmers, who accuse the administration of ignoring the unprecedented inflows of Ukrainian agricultural products, many of which flooded the local markets instead of being transported elsewhere across the so-called EU solidarity lanes. The Polish government has been aware of the issue since at least last summer.
The list of goods banned from entering Poland under the measures announced includes grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat and other products. Hungary announced a similar list.
“In the absence of meaningful EU measures, [Budapest] will temporarily ban the importation of grain and oilseeds originating from or coming from Ukraine, as well as several other agricultural products into Hungary,” Hungarian Agriculture Minister István Nagy said in a statement late Saturday.
The restriction “lasts until June 30, 2023, which may be enough time to take meaningful and lasting EU measures, to reconsider the full duty-free nature of Ukrainian goods, and the operation of the solidarity corridors,” according to the Hungarian statement.
The European Commission said on Sunday that it is seeking further information on the import restrictions from Poland and Hungary “to be able to assess the measures,” according to a statement. “Trade policy is of EU exclusive competence and, therefore, unilateral actions are not acceptable,” it said.
“In such challenging times, it is crucial to coordinate and align all decisions within the EU,” the Commission added.
This article has been updated.
