Embargo three: why several European countries have banned the import of agricultural products from Ukraine

Hungary has banned the import of grain and 20 other types of agricultural products from Ukraine into the country due to the damage that such imports cause to local farmers, said the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic Istvan Nagy in an interview with Világgazdaság magazine.

"Problems similar to Ukrainian grain dumping have arisen in other sectors, such as egg and chicken production, as well as beekeeping. Duty-free imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, the complete absence of EU production standards that make European products more expensive, and, consequently, the low level of prices for them are structural problems that are not limited to crop production," TASS quoted him as saying.

According to the minister, the Central European countries asked the European Commission to find a common solution to this problem, but this did not lead to anything. In this regard, the Hungarian government decided to unilaterally extend the agricultural embargo to another 20 types of Ukrainian products.

Similar measures were taken by the authorities of Slovakia and Poland. Thus, the Slovak government announced that the ban on the import of grain and a number of other crops from Ukraine will remain in place until the end of 2023. On September 15, Slovak Prime Minister Ludovit Odor explained that this was done in order to secure the country's agricultural industry.

"We must prevent excessive pressure on the Slovak market in order to maintain justice for our farmers as well. At the same time, our step is a reaction to a similar procedure by Poland and Hungary," he stressed.

In turn, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that the country is extending the embargo on the import of Ukrainian grain and will not "listen to Brussels" in this case. The politician also called the decisions of the European Commission in this matter harmful to European farmers.

A spokesman for the country's Cabinet of Ministers, Piotr Muller, added that such measures are being introduced "in the interests of Polish farmers and consumers." And the Minister of Agriculture of Poland, Robert Telus, explained that the ban will be extended to several types of agricultural products.

"The ban applies to four cereals, but also at my request and at the request of farmers, it was extended to the following ground cereals: corn, wheat, rapeseed - so that these products also do not affect the Polish market," the official said.

In Moscow, such a policy was considered justified. Thus, Dmitry Belik, a member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, in an interview with RT, noted that the authorities of these countries are acting rationally, believing that Ukrainian grain should not become a cause for the problems of their farmers.

"It is possible that the list of countries that put their national interests at the forefront, contrary to the decisions of the European Commission, will increase, while Zelensky's tantrums do not play any role here," Belik said.

Retaliatory threats

Earlier, the EC decided not to extend restrictions on the export of four types of agricultural products (wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds) from Ukraine to the border countries of the EU, while obliging Kiev to introduce measures to control supplies.

In response, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary unilaterally extended the embargo on the import of Ukrainian grain and imposed their own restrictions. Bulgaria did not prolong the ban, and Romania took a wait-and-see attitude, saying that Bucharest expects proposals from Kiev to control the export of products. At the request of the European Commission, they must be submitted by the Ukrainian side no later than September 18.

The head of the Kyiv regime, reacting to the actions of the countries of Central Europe, threatened them with a "civilized response". In his Telegram channel, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that in a telephone conversation with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, he expressed gratitude for the commission's decision not to extend the embargo on the import of Ukrainian grain, but warned that Kyiv would react to non-compliance with this decision.

"Now it is important that European unity works at the bilateral level. For neighbors to support Ukraine during the war. And if their decisions violate EU law, Ukraine will respond in a civilized manner," Zelensky said.

He has previously stated that Kiev is categorically against any further restrictions on grain exports. According to the Ukrainian president, the European Commission violates its promises, the provisions of the association agreement, the conditions of the free market, so Kiev is ready to defend its rights in the courts.

"Hysteria has become the main technique"

Meanwhile, analysts doubt that Kiev will be able to influence the decision of a number of European countries to limit imports of Ukrainian grain and other products.

"The only way for Zelensky to influence the position of Europe is through his patrons in Washington. Zelensky is a puppet figure, and he can speak out about the Europeans as he wants, but this will not change anything. No one in Eastern and Central Europe will allow Ukraine to destroy their agriculture, flooding the market with cheap raw materials, "said Leonid Krutakov, associate professor of the Department of Political Science at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, in a conversation with RT.

The agricultural sector of Europe cannot simultaneously incur increased costs due to the EU's refusal of energy from Russia and at the same time reduce prices for its products, which will have to compete with the Ukrainian one, the analyst added.

"Of course, this does not suit anyone. Do you remember when Russia introduced import substitution, what was happening in Poland? Therefore, European countries, no matter how much they support Ukraine morally, cannot tell their farmers to get out on their own. Not a single party, government or candidate will be able to count on victory after this," the political scientist explained.

• Gettyimages.ru
• © Milan Krasula

Vadim Trukhachev, a lecturer at the Department of Foreign Regional Studies and Foreign Policy at the Historical and Archival Institute of the Russian State University for the Humanities, also believes that Zelensky's threats against European countries that have imposed an embargo on Ukrainian grain are nothing more than a concussion of the air.

"Hysteria has long been the main technique of the Ukrainian authorities, diplomacy, and refugees. And now Zelensky again fell into hysterics, but this is designed only for Ukrainians, because he will not be able to achieve anything in this way, "Trukhachev believes.

He recalled that agriculture plays an important role in the economies of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and the influx of cheap Ukrainian grain has a negative impact on local farmers.

"All these countries are predominantly agricultural. They do not want to lose markets in the EU countries and are very much fighting for quotas for the export of their products. Ukrainian grain, sold at dumping prices, is quite capable of displacing Polish, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Slovak and other products from European markets. Therefore, they have no choice but to introduce these bans, because it directly hits their economy, "Trukhachev said.

At the same time, he admitted that Ukrainian grain would bypass these countries and be exported to the seaports of Croatia and the Netherlands.

"Most likely, the final decision will be as follows: transit through these five countries will be allowed, but without stopping - that is, in such a way that Ukrainian agricultural products will not get into these states, but at the same time, it will press the same Polish and Slovak goods in the markets of other countries. As for Ukrainian grain, it is largely already owned by foreigners, so calling it Ukrainian is not even entirely true," the expert concluded.