The Governments of Ukraine and Poland have agreed to resume the transit of Ukrainian grains through the territory of Poland starting from April 22, in negotiations held in Warsaw earlier this week. 

Poland and Hungary last week announced a temporary ban on imports from Ukraine of grain and dozens of food products, including fruits and vegetables, wine, beef and veal, poultry, eggs, and dairy products, until at least June 30. 

The Polish government has explained the move by "protecting the interests of its own citizens”, while Hungary had pointed to the need to protect the domestic agricultural sector.

The European Commission condemned the decision and demanded their immediate cancellation. The Slovakian authorities on Monday also suspended the import of grains and a number of food products from Ukraine.

The European Union canceled import taxes and quotas for Ukraine in  May as a country at war for one year to support its economy. It was assumed the bulk of Ukrainian grain exports would be sent via Poland and other border countries to downstream consumers, including Asia and Africa. However, it appeared that a large amount of Ukrainian products remained in Poland, Hungary and Romania.

Due to the abolition of taxes, the influx of cheap Ukrainian products led to a sharp decrease in the competitiveness of local goods. This caused discontent among the farmers of countries bordering Ukraine, including Poland and Hungary.