Any restrictions on agri-exports from Ukraine to be unkustified, illegal – MFA

This is stated in a commentary released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

"Ukraine expects that after this date, the EU side will lift any restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural products. Such a step would stop violations of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, as well as the principles and norms of the EU Single Market," it said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes that in order to address the previously expressed concerns of some EU Member States, Ukraine and the European Commission have conducted systematic work within the framework of the Joint Coordination Platform. In particular, the parties reached agreements to increase the capacity of the Danube corridor, transfer sanitary and phytosanitary controls from the border to the countries of destination of Ukrainian products, monitor harvests, grain storage volumes, and trade flows at the border. In the context of developing long-term solutions, the parties also outlined steps to create new grain storage facilities on EU territory, identified alternative transport corridors to the Baltic, Adriatic and Aegean Seas, and started working on the introduction of joint customs control between Ukraine and the EU Member States. The Ministry also emphasizes a comprehensive analysis of data and processes, according to which the export of Ukrainian grains is not the cause of destabilization of the EU internal market.

"For the duration of the European Commission's ban and the prolonged absence of Ukrainian agricultural products, the problems of farmers in Slovakia, Poland, Romania, and Hungary were not resolved at the level of their governments. This indicates the presence of completely different factors of market pressure, including global price changes," the statement emphasized.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine also welcomes Bulgaria's decision to resume imports of Ukrainian grain and calls on other EU member states neighboring Ukraine to follow in Bulgaria’s footsteps.

"We believe it is appropriate to emphasize that Ukraine's competitor on the global grain markets is the Russian Federation, which is not subject to any restrictions on grain exports to the EU. By artificially restraining the export of Ukrainian products, Russian Federation receives additional conditions for international expansion and resources to continue its war against Ukraine," the ministry stressed.

In the opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, any decision, be it European or national, that will further restrict Ukrainian agricultural exports will not only be unjustified and illegal, but will also harm the common economic interests of Ukraine, EU Member States, and the entire European Union in general, and will have a clear destabilizing effect on the global food market.

As reported, the Council of Ministers of Poland at its meeting on Tuesday adopted a resolution calling on the European Commission to extend the ban on the import of four types of agricultural products from Ukraine after September 15. If Brussels does not make a corresponding decision, Warsaw will unilaterally extend the embargo on Ukrainian grain. The document states that the ban will remain in effect "until relations in the agrarian sphere between Poland and Ukraine are settled."

In May 2023, the European Commission banned the import of wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania at the insistence of these countries. On June 5, the ban was extended until September 15, 2023. These countries seek to extend the ban until the end of the year and expand it to some other goods.

The Ukrainian authorities said that if the European Commission extends the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain beyond September 15, Kyiv may consider mirror measures. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine would turn to WTO arbitration in the event that Poland blocks the export of Ukrainian grain.