The European Commission has extended an arrangement whereby five of Ukraine’s neighbours can restrict imports of Ukrainian grain. Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia are allowed to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds while allowing transit through them for export elsewhere, including to other EU countries. The Embargo was due to expire on Monday, is now allowed to run until Sept. 15
The EU liberalised all imports from Ukraine for an initial 12 months from June 2022 to help Kyiv’s efforts to fend off Russia’s invasion. The tariff suspension then caused a flooding of East European Markets and collapse of grain prices, threatening agriculture in those countries, leading to the total ban.
Ukraine has lobbied for the restrictions to be lifted once more, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy calling for the unconditional removal of all export restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural products at talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. With the exception of the five nations, the EU will retain the tariff suspensions for another year.
