President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called the decision on the possible extension of restrictions on the export of Ukrainian agricultural products to some EU countries after September 15 unacceptable and non-European. After the July 24 meeting, he recorded a video in which he expressed hope for a rational solution for Europe, noting his readiness for any development of events.
“We have an agreement with the European Commission on September 15 as the last date for the restrictions on our grain exports, and we hope that the European side will fulfill its obligations. Because any continuation of restrictions is absolutely unacceptable and frankly un-European. Europe has an institutional opportunity to act more rationally than to close the borders for this or that product. We will try to find a solution that will meet the spirit of our Europe,” he said in a video message published on his Telegram channel.
According to the Ukrainian President, Kyiv is actively working to find a solution to this issue. Zelensky expects European countries to fulfill their obligations and the restrictions will cease to operate. National grain: Eastern Europe bans the import of Ukrainian wheat Will this force the EU to reconsider approaches to the deal and relations with Russia
On July 21, Bloomberg, citing Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solsky, reported that food exports from Ukraine fell by at least 30% after the termination of the grain deal. The minister added that many suppliers have switched to delivery by trucks or by rail.
However, in early July, Arkadiusz Artyshak, Doctor of Sciences and Professor at the Warsaw University of Natural Sciences, said that Poland was literally flooded with imported grains, especially wheat and corn from Ukraine. He cited data from the Treasury Department and the National Revenue Office.
On May 31, it was reported that Hungary asked the EU to extend restrictions on the import of Ukrainian grain for five Eastern European countries until at least the end of 2023.
On May 2, the European Commission banned the export of Ukrainian grain to five Eastern European countries. The restrictive measures taken concern the export of four agricultural products – wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds of Ukrainian origin.
Last year, the EU allowed Kyiv to supply food to the EU countries duty-free, but this hit the farmers in Poland and some other countries.Share: