Restrictions on the import of Ukrainian grain imposed by five EU countries should not be extended, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on August 28 during a visit to Prague.
Kuleba said Ukraine firmly opposed any extension of the import ban on wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seed past its current September 15 expiration because it violates the rules of the common market and the association agreement between Ukraine and the EU.
"We are absolutely adamantly against it because this move will violate the rules of the common market," Kuleba told reporters at a joint briefing with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky.
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"This rule will violate the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, but most importantly this move will go against the principle of solidarity that the European Union is based on," he said.
The EU earlier this year set import restrictions on Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seed to ease the excess supply in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia after those countries complained that cheaper Ukrainian grain was making domestic production unprofitable.
The EU restrictions had an initial expiration of June 5 but were subsequently extended until September 15. The five EU countries last month signed a joint declaration saying they wanted the import ban to last through the end of 2023 but adding that food can move through their lands to other parts of the world.
While Ukraine is very grateful to the five countries for the military and humanitarian assistance they have provided since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Kuleba said Ukraine will have no choice but to fiercely defend its rights and the rights of its farmers if the ban is extended.
Kuleba also noted that Ukraine was ready to work with the five countries "to find a solution."
Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus confirmed earlier that Poland and four other countries were considering extending the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain until the end of this year.
Telus added that he and his colleagues from Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania want to add new goods to the list of prohibited imports -- for example, Ukrainian raspberries in the case of Poland.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on August 26 commented on the possible extension of the ban.
"We consider it categorically unacceptable to continue trade restrictions on the import of agricultural products of Ukraine after the ban of the European Commission expires on September 15," the press service of the Foreign Ministry said.
The Foreign Ministry also expressed a "complete misunderstanding" over the intention to expand the list of goods prohibited for import.