EU data shows Ukraine managed to export more grain in August than before the grain embargo instituted by five Central European countries, which may help counter arguments that these same countries are harming Ukraine’s ability to export agricultural products.
The data was revealed by European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski, which shows that a record 4 million tons of grain were exported through the “solidarity corridors” in Romania, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. This number shows that over 1 million tons more were exported by Ukraine than before the grain embargo (2.9 million tons). The current embargo on grain does not affect the transport of grain through countries like Poland or Hungary but simply bans it from being sold in those countries.
According to Wojciechowski, this data shows that the embargo has not adversely affected Ukrainian agriculture. Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus thanked the commissioner for the data which, in his opinion, showed that the solidarity corridors are working and that the European Commission’s lifting of the embargo could affect them adversely.
The news came as the daily Rzeczpospolita published an opinion survey showing that 58 percent of the public in Poland backed the ban on Ukrainian grain, with only 19 percent being against it. Another 22 percent did not have any views on the matter.
A ban on Ukrainian grain has been announced by Poland, Hungary and Slovakia following the decision by the European Commission to lift the EU embargo on Ukrainian grain on Sept. 15. Ukraine has reacted to the bans by the EU member states by suing all three at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The crisis in relations between Ukraine and Poland deepened last week when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used the occasion of the UN General Assembly to make a speech in which he criticized those countries that had imposed the grain ban, saying that they are in effect helping Russia.
