Vysotskyi: Exports of Ukrainian agricultural products help contain EU’s inflation

According to an Ukrinform correspondent, Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food First Deputy Minister Taras Vysotskyi stated this on the air of the United News telethon.

Referring to one of the European Commission's reports, he noted that overall, the supply of agricultural products from Ukraine helped to contain inflation in the European Union.

"They [ed. - EU] had significant inflation, but without the supply it would have been even higher. This is all included in the report," the deputy minister said.

Vysotskyi emphasized that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has led to an increase in agricultural prices on the world market. This has had different effects for different countries. For export-oriented countries, the economic effect of rising prices was positive.

The deputy minister continued, however, that discussions are ongoing regarding the export of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU. The impact of increased supplies is being discussed on a country-by-country basis.

"We hope that the figures will show that it is primarily beneficial for us to cooperate, including in the agricultural sector," Vysotskyi concluded.

As Ukrinform reported, Hungary and Poland imposed a temporary ban on imports of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine on April 15, 2023. On April 19, 2023, a ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products to Slovakia will take effect. At the same time, Poland has also suspended the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products through its territory. Hungary and Slovakia did not stop transit.

In addition, Bulgaria and Romania are considering suspending imports of agricultural products from Ukraine.

On April 17, 2023, the European Commission announced that it did not support the decision of member states to impose unilateral restrictions on the import of grain and other food products from Ukraine.