Czech Republic proposes to EU to ban imports of Russian and Belarusian grain

This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture of the Czech Republic Marek Vyborny on the air of CT24 TV channel, Ukrinform reported.

At the next meeting of EU agriculture ministers, he wants to seek the inclusion of agricultural products from Russia and Belarus in the sanctions list. It is about grains and oilseeds.

"Russian grain and Belarusian goods simply have no business in Europe. I see no reason why Russian grain should be in Europe. There is no reason to support the aggressor," the minister emphasized.

Vyborny expressed his belief that the refusal to import will not lead to a significant rise in food prices. He informed that the Czech Republic harvests eight million tons of grain a year, while the country's demand is about five million tons, so the rest is exported.

According to Eurostat, last year Russia exported more than 1.5 million tons of grain to the EU, which is 50 percent more than before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

As reported, the ruling coalition in Latvia has agreed to ban grain imports from Russia and Belarus.