EU lifts ban on Ukrainian grain

The European Union decided Friday to scrap a ban that prevented Ukraine from selling agricultural products to its nearby EU countries. Instead, some of the countries will impose their own restrictions to balance their markets. The decision came after several weeks of compromise between Ukraine, which wanted the ban to end, and nearby countries. Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia wanted a ban on Ukrainian grain exports. The EU imposed the temporary ban back in May to balance the markets.

What caused the ban? The EU has strongly supported the export of Ukrainian grain. The support was so successful that it flooded the markets in several EU countries bordering Ukraine. Since May, so-called “market distortions” have disappeared, according to the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch. Poland and Hungary expressed concern that removing the ban would lead to Ukrainian grain flooding their markets again. Ukraine also has agreed to take its own steps to regulate its exports.

Dig deeper: Read a report in WORLD Magazine by WORLD Journalism Institute graduates about how the war in Ukraine has raised food and fuel prices in the United States.