It turns out that Russian grain exports are not the only issue with respect to the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Poland and Hungary have both banned the import of Ukrainian grain and other food products because, rather than merely transiting through those countries on their way to other countries, Ukrainian food imports are actually causing an oversupply in Europe, collapsing prices and threatening local farmers. “Today, the government has decided on a regulation that prohibits the entry, importation of grain into Poland, but also dozens of other types of food (from Ukraine),” Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS), said during a party convention. Kaczynski assured Ukraine that Poland stands with them, “But it is the duty of every state, every authority, good authority in any case, to protect the interests of its citizens.”
Later on April 15, nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government joined the ban, saying the status quo would cause severe damage to local farmers. Hungary did not give details on when its ban on grain and other food imports would go into effect, but said it will expire at the end of June. Hungary’s government said it hoped for changes in regulation at the EU level, including a re-thinking of the elimination of import duties on Ukrainian products.
