Central European countries are closing their borders to agricultural products from Ukraine

Poland was the first to take the plunge, and the result proved particularly radical: on Saturday, April 15, at an election meeting, the leader of the majority national conservative Jarosław presented a “support plan for the Polish campaign.” Kaczynski announced that the government, which largely supports Kiev’s war effort, would close its borders to all Ukrainian agricultural products until the end of June. Cereals, its Polish pits are saturated, but almost all everyday consumer goods, from fruits and vegetables to sugar, including honey and wine, are a concern. On the same day, in the evening, the order was published in the Polish Official Gazette and entered into force.

The announcement was made without any consultation with the European Commission, although its trade policy does not have exclusive competence or with the Ukrainian party. The latter responded quickly, believing that the decision had been made “contrary to past agreements”. Hungarian authorities followed in Poland’s footsteps and banned imports of cereals and oilseeds during the same period. However, unlike Warsaw, Budapest continues to allow transit of Ukrainian goods.

Slovakia, for its part, is tolerating transit and banning imports of wheat and other Ukrainian agricultural products from April 18 until further notice. The central European country recently banned the sale and processing of Ukrainian grain already stored on its territory following the discovery of 1,500 tons of wheat contaminated with a pesticide banned in the European Union. Fearing it could become a barrier, Bulgaria has also announced it is considering restrictions.

Fall in wheat prices

On Monday, April 17, in Warsaw, his Ukrainian counterpart, after a meeting with Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Delus, said that negotiations to resolve the transport issue are underway. “We are not against the transit, but we want to be 100% sure that these products that disrupt our market will not be in Poland. We are working on an agreement that will guarantee that. » The Minister appealed to the European Commission to undertake “Actions in this direction as soon as possible. » “We want to signal to the European Union that we need changes also on the question of customs duties”, he added.

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