A number of eastern European Union states are demanding that the EU impose import duties on Ukrainian grain, citing "unfair competition," Hungary's agriculture ministry said on Monday, UNN wrote citing Reuters.
Details
The Ministry, as indicated, reported that "the agriculture ministers of Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia have sent a letter to the European Commission asking it to take action, saying cheaper agricultural products from Ukraine are eating into their export markets.
The five signatories are reportedly among six EU member states that produce significantly more wheat and corn than they need, which is key to European food security and the EU's strategic sovereignty, the ministers said.
"This is why Brussels needs to take measures that protect the markets of Member States bordering Ukraine while helping them to fully utilize their export potential," the letter is said to have been signed by ministers, including Hungary's Agriculture Minister István Nádem, as indicated.
"One such (measure) could be the imposition of import duties on the most sensitive agricultural products," the letter said.
Ministers say the large size of Ukrainian farms makes it cheaper to export grain from the country, pushing EU farmers out of their traditional export markets.
Farmers in Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia "suffered significant damage" after the EU suspended quotas and customs duties on grain imports from Ukraine last year, they said.
The ministers also call on the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, to examine in a report "whether Ukraine's production guidelines are in line with EU standards.
The complaints were addressed to European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis and European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski, the publication notes.
Supplement
Poland, Slovakia and Hungary announced restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports last September after the European Commission decided not to extend the ban on grain imports to Ukraine's five EU neighbors.
All three bans apply only to domestic imports and do not affect transit to downstream markets.