This temporary ban comes in addition to the offer of another 100 million crisis aid for affected farmers in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.
Poland and Hungary last week unilaterally imposed an import ban on Ukrainian products, much to the outrage of the other EU countries. They even blocked border crossings to all freight traffic for several days. The Swedish EU presidency emphasized that trade agreements are only made collectively, by the European Commission.
EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovski is currently engaged in intense negotiations with those five countries. They also want import restrictions on other Ukrainian products, including meat and equipment. Earlier, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki dismissed the additional 100 million euros as 'too late and too little'. The agreement now being prepared concerns grain, corn, rapeseed oil, sunflower seeds, and sunflower oil.
Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said on Tuesday after the monthly Agriculture Ministers meeting in Luxembourg that he expects the deal to be concluded very soon. He pointed out that these five products make up almost ninety percent of all Ukrainian exports to those countries.
The Ukrainian Minister of Agriculture participated via video link in the EU Agriculture Council. There has been no response yet from Ukraine regarding the announcement of an imminent temporary export ban for Ukrainians.
The temporary ban is in effect at least until June 5. On that date, the temporary exemption from import duties and export quotas for almost all Ukrainian exports, established last year, expires. The European Commission has previously stated that it does not want to reimpose those duties, although the five 'frontline states' did request it.
In Luxembourg, Wojciechowski and Swedish Chair Kullgren pointed out that such a temporary export ban to five EU countries can expect tacit support from the 27 Agriculture Ministers, pending a better, structural solution.