European Commission plans to extend ban on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine until September 15

Polish Minister of Agriculture, Robert Telus, reported the information on Twitter.

"We have received a draft of a new regulation from the European Commission that bans the import of four products to five EU countries. The effective date of the draft is September 15 this year," Telus wrote.

The Polish minister hopes that the project will come into force tomorrow.

It will apply to wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. However, grain can be transported in transit.

Information available regarding the prohibition on the import of agricultural products from Ukraine

On February 2, Polish farmers initiated a blockade at checkpoints along the border with Ukraine. Their actions were a response to the uncontrolled influx of Ukrainian grain into Poland, which resulted in a significant drop in prices for their own agricultural products. Local farmers maintain that Ukrainian grain should have been exclusively transported through Poland to ports, but instead, it found its way into the Polish market. Subsequently, on February 16 and 17, Polish farmers resumed their protests at the border with Ukraine.

On April 7, Ukraine reached an agreement to halt the export of grain to Poland, and subsequently, on April 15, the country implemented a ban on the import of Ukrainian grain and other food products into Poland.

In April, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary also decided to unilaterally ban imports of agricultural products from Ukraine. 

On April 29, the European Commission agreed with Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia on the transit of food produced in Ukraine through their territory. 

On May 12, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary called on the European Commission to extend the embargo on Ukrainian agricultural products until the end of the year. 

The four EU countries will insist on extending the restrictions on grain imports from Ukraine until October. At the same time, Hungary wants to extend the restrictions until 2024.