Czech Agriculture Minister Says Concerned About Situation With Grain Imports From Ukraine
© Sputnik . Vitaly Timkiv
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In May, the European Commission allowed Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia to ban the sale of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds on their markets, while not restricting transit to other countries. The ban is due to be lifted on September 15, but Poland has already said it will not do so.
Czech Agriculture Minister Marek Vyborny on Wednesday asked the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, to look into the situation with imports of agricultural products from Ukraine, mainly grain and poultry meat.
"We need to solve the logistics, the capacity of transport routes to third countries, we also need to guarantee the safety of delivered products and strengthen the supply of certain regions. It is necessary to support the transport companies in order to reduce the pressure on the European territory. It is also important to monitor the current product stocks and prepare possible crisis measures for the coming period," Vyborny was quoted as saying by the ministry.
The European Commission last year opened the floodgates to duty-free imports of Ukrainian agricultural products such as grain, oil seeds, eggs, poultry, apples and more. The imports undercut food prices in neighboring EU countries, threatening the livelihoods of local farmers.
