14.04.2023, Bratislava.
Slovak Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Samuel Vlčan proposed a mechanism within the European Union that could help the Ukrainian authorities buy their own grain was proposed on April 14 at the talks of the agriculture ministers of Eastern European countries.
The agriculture ministers of Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Romania will meet to discuss blocking imports of cheap grain from Ukraine to the European market.
According to the head of the Slovak Ministry of Agriculture, who proposed this initiative, the EU countries are ready to work out a tool with which Ukrainian grain could be bought directly by the Ukrainian government.
It also transpired that Poland and Hungary suggested introducing temporary quotas on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine to the European market.
Earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture of Slovakia imposed a strict ban on the import, processing and placing on the market of already imported Ukrainian grain and flour. According to the ministry, a pesticide negatively affecting people’s health was found in Ukrainian grain.
In early April, Slovakia strengthened quality control and transit of grain crops to protect the local market.
Governments of Eastern European states are concerned about increased discrimination against local producers due to cheap agricultural products imported from Ukraine.
In late March, the prime ministers of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia issued a joint statement to the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen demanding to limit imports of Ukrainian agricultural products.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
