Poland, Slovakia and Hungary imposed bans after an influx of Ukrainian grain sparked protests from local farmers.
Kiev is considering suing Poland, Hungary and Slovakia over their bans on Ukrainian agricultural products, Politico news agency reported.
The magazine on Monday quoted Ukrainian trade representative Taras Katschka as saying that Kiev could also impose countermeasures on Poland if Warsaw did not abandon its additional steps.
“We would be forced to resort to the additional products and would ban the import of fruits and vegetables from Poland,” he said.
In May, the European Union restricted Ukrainian grain, allowing Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds, while also banning the transit of such cargoes for export to other countries to allow.
As the restriction expired last week, Warsaw, Bratislava and Budapest announced their bans on Ukrainian grain, saying they were acting in the interests of their economies and the measure was to protect their farmers.
The three countries have complained that a glut of Ukrainian grain threatens their domestic markets.
Kachka said the bans were “ridiculous.”
Workers load grain at a port in Ismail, Ukraine, April 2023 [File: Andrew Kravchenko/AP Photo]“I think Hungary is making a political statement here that it wants to block trade with Ukraine and also completely disregard Brussels. And that’s why I think this is a very courageous movement against both of us from Budapest,” he said.
The EU allowed its ban to expire on Friday after Ukraine announced it would take measures to tighten controls on exports to neighboring countries.
Kachka said Kiev was ready to “take responsibility to ensure that exports from Ukraine do not trigger a tsunami in neighboring countries” and would introduce a system of “real-time” grain export licenses.
However, the Ukrainian official also pointed out that the decision to enforce its bans without EU support raised “the biggest systemic concern” when partners could not trust Brussels to speak for the bloc.
According to Politico, Kyiv also plans to sue the countries at the World Trade Organization, not under its trade deal with the EU.
“I think the whole world should see how the member states in the EU behave towards trading partners and their own union, because that can also influence other states,” he added.