EU country urges check of Ukrainian food exports for market violations

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has urged the European Commission (EC) to check if Ukrainian food exports meet EU standards as Warsaw seeks to protect its economy from “destabilization” caused by an influx of cheap goods from Ukraine.  

He announced on Friday that Warsaw would submit a request to the EC demanding an inspection of a range of goods such as poultry, eggs, and dairy products.  

Earlier, the Slovak authorities had banned the processing and sale of Ukrainian grain after discovering a dangerous pesticide in a shipment.   

“We want to reliably verify the impact of these products on the Polish market in the last few months and the risks related to the destabilization of the Polish market in the future,” Morawiecki was quoted by the radio station RMF24 as saying.  

The announcement comes at a time when EU ambassadors are expected to vote on extending duty-free trade with Ukraine, which expires on June 5.   

Last year, the EU lifted tariffs and quotas for Ukrainian agricultural produce in order to enable grain from Ukraine to be shipped onward to global markets. However, much of the supply has ended up getting stuck in Eastern European countries. The glut of cheap produce has left EU farmers struggling against what they view as unfair competition.  

Earlier this month, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Bulgaria unilaterally blocked Ukrainian food products from their markets. Last week, the European Commission offered €100 million ($109 million) in support for farmers in the five member states, of which €40 million will reportedly be allocated to Poland.   

The EC also agreed to introduce a ban on imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds from Ukraine until June. However, the agriculture ministers of the five countries demanded that the list of banned goods be expanded.

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