Media: Kyiv denies grain proposal rejected by 5 EU members

Ukraine’s Deputy Minister for Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture, Taras Kachka, has told the news outlet European Pravda that five members of the European Union have not rejected Ukraine’s plan for regulating grain exports to five neighboring states.

"The next round of negotiations has just ended, and I can say that the information about the 'five states that rejected Ukraine's proposals' is completely untrue," as quoted by European Pravda.

This follows an initial report that the five states in question, which include Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia, had rejected Kyiv’s proposed plan to implement a system of permits to manage the export of grain.

The five countries, plus the European Commission, had placed a ban in May on the domestic sale of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seed out of concerns the imports would threaten domestic agricultural producers in each country. The European Commission ended the embargo on Sept. 15, though Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia have each decided to continue their own bans on the imports.

Ukraine responded to the continuation of the bans by initiating an appeal through the World Trade Organization against Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.

Romania may extend ban on Ukrainian grain imports by 30 days

Romania will extend the ban on Ukrainian grain imports by another 30 days if the import requests rise, French broadcaster RFI reported on Sept. 18, citing the country’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek