Slovakia agreed with Ukraine on the grain trade system

The Minister of Agriculture of Ukraine, Mykola Solskyi, promised to stop the lawsuit against Slovakia in the World Trade Organization in exchange for the creation of a grain trade system between the countries. It will act on the basis of licensing and control.

The Slovak publication TASR writes about this with reference to the words of Kristina Yurichkova from the communication department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Slovak Minister Jozef Bires held an online meeting with Mykola Solsky, during which the officials agreed on a new trade system.

The ban on the import of Ukrainian grain in Slovakia will remain in effect until the system is up and running. It will also contribute to the fact that Kyiv will not prohibit the sale of Slovak agricultural products to Ukraine.

• On April 28, 2023, the European Commission reached an agreement with Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia regarding the import of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU. From May 2 to June 5, there was a ban on the free circulation of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds in these five countries. Then the agreement was extended until September 15. The embargo was introduced due to the fact that farmers from Poland and other countries went to protest actions. Agrarians complained that Ukrainian grain settles in countries, it is not exported further, due to which the purchase prices for grain fell sharply.
• On September 15, the European Commission did not extend the embargo on Ukrainian grain. Poland has declared that it will extend it unilaterally. Subsequently , Hungary and Slovakia announced the same steps.
• Ukraine was preparing a lawsuit against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia in World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitration over the grain embargo. At the same time, Ukraine changed the rules of grain export at the request of the European Commission.