Ukraine criticises Poland's decision to block agricultural products. Hungary joins the ban
Ukraine has criticised the Polish government's decision to ban imports of Ukrainian agricultural goods, including products destined for other countries, saying it violated a previous agreement between the two countries, Politico reports.
Late on Saturday, Hungary joined Poland in banning imports of agricultural products from Ukraine, with both governments saying the restrictions would remain in place until the end of June.
Warsaw's move was announced by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki following an emergency cabinet meeting on the influx of Ukrainian goods into Poland.
"We will never leave farmers without aid. That's why we have specific measures [including] banning the entry of grain from Ukraine into Poland," Morawiecki said in a tweet.
Ukraine's agriculture ministry said it regretted Poland's decision.
"The Ministry of Agrarian Policy, for its part, has always been sympathetic to the situation in the Polish agricultural sector and has responded promptly to various challenges. At present, drastic unilateral actions will not accelerate the positive resolution of the situation," the ministry said in a statement.
Last week, Poland announced that it had agreed with Ukraine to temporarily halt all grain imports destined for the Polish market. At a joint press conference of Polish and Ukrainian agriculture ministers, Poland's Robert Telus said transit products destined for other countries would not be restricted. Since then, the two governments have been negotiating the details of the deal, and Ukrainian agriculture minister Mykola Solskyi was due to travel to Warsaw on Monday to sign the final agreement.
The ban comes as the Polish government struggles to appease its own farmers, who accuse the administration of ignoring unprecedented flows of Ukrainian farm produce, much of which has flooded local markets instead of being transported elsewhere via so-called EU solidarity routes.
The list of goods banned from entering Poland under the announced measures includes cereals, fruit, vegetables, dairy, meat and other products. Hungary has announced a similar list.
