Ukraine to file complaint against its EU neighbours amid grain ban

Ukraine will file a complaint to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to challenge the embargo Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia imposed on the country’s grain exports, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing Ukrainian Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka.

Ukraine will seek to prove that the embargo is illegitimate, Kachka told Politico in an interview published on Monday.

The governments of the three countries that border Ukraine responded to Ukraine’s complaint by revealing that they would boycott the coordination platform for Ukrainian grain in Brussels, Polish news outlet PAP reported on Monday.

Bloomberg believes that Law & Justice, the ruling party of Poland, will struggle to form a majority at the country’s parliament elections scheduled for 15 October, and this is why the party is seeking to ensure the votes of Polish farmers who make up a significant portion of the party’s base by backing the domestic grain market.

The European Commission introduced a ban on importing Ukrainian grain to five Eastern European countries on 2 May. Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia decided to keep the sanctions on Friday so as to protect their domestic agricultural sectors. Romania announced that it would not impose a unilateral ban after negotiating a temporary suspension of grain imports with Kyiv, while Bulgaria decided to fully waive the embargo.