Bratislava's unilateral ban on the import of Ukrainian grain will remain in force until the European Commission offers a systemic solution to the problem with the domination of Ukrainian agriproducts in Europe, Slovak Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Richard Takac was quoted as saying by the Slovak Agriculture Ministry in a report on its website.
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"Slovakia fully supports the transit of agriproducts from Ukraine to third countries through 'solidarity corridors.' However, the reality is such that a considerable part of these commodities remain on the common EU market, thus creating price competition to Slovak farmers who export grain to the EU," Takac said at a bilateral meeting with European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Janusz Wojciechowski at a meeting of the Council of the European Union's Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH) in Brussels.
Grain in Slovakia is grown on some 500,000 hectares of land, which is about one-third of all area under crops in the country, and therefore it is important for the country to maintain such level of production, he said.
"The loss of these manufacturers will lead to a collapse of the Slovak agricultural sector," Takac said, adding that Slovakia expects proposals from the European Commission on a systemic solution to the problem.
"The ban on import of agricultural products from Ukraine to the Slovak market, introduced on a national level, will remain in force until such a solution is found on the EU level," he said.
European Commissioner Wojciechowski told Takac the European Commission gives attention to the problems of the Slovak agricultural sector, but does not consider Slovakia's unilateral measures ideal.
However, the European Commission is ready to look for a constructive common European solution to the issue of Ukrainian agriproducts import.
According to earlier reports, the European Commission announced on September 15 it would not extend the restrictions on the import of agriproducts from Ukraine to its five neighboring EU countries on some conditions, which will help avoid a new sharp increase in supplies.
These restrictions were introduced on May 2 and concerned the import of wheat, rapeseed, sunflower and corn to five EU states: Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. These states alleged that Ukrainian agriproducts, in a situation of its duty-free import, ended up there and harmed their agricultural sectors.
After the restrictions were lifted, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia introduced unilateral bans. Ukraine responded by filing a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization, accusing these three countries of discrimination against Ukrainian agriproducts.
According to information from the Ukrainian side, this dispute is now on pause to discuss the issue at the EU level. ■