Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria banned grain imports from Ukraine, in a bid to support domestic markets. The countries became transit routes for Ukrainian grain that could not be exported through the country’s Black Sea ports. Central and eastern European countries are calling for EU measures to tackle the problem and help move Ukraine’s grain through central European countries.

Farm Minister Istvan Nagy said that Hungary wants to maintain the grain ban for the rest of 2023. “We would like the (European) Commission to accept our measures as we aim to uphold them until the end of the year, to allow our farmers to harvest and store their crop,” Reuters quotes Nagy.

The Polish prime minister’s office said the move was “to protect the Polish agricultural market against destabilization,” CNN reports. In response, Ukraine says it “regrets the decision of its Polish counterparts” and was ready to cooperate with Poland in an investigation of any possible abuses.

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