President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the lifting of European restrictions on the export of Ukrainian agricultural products by land after transportation by waterways was threatened.
Source. This was reported by CNN.
The restrictions were introduced in May in five countries – Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia – to protect these markets from being flooded with cheaper Ukrainian grain.
The current restrictions are set to expire in September.
At the time, the European Commission said that wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds originating in Ukraine could be transported in all EU countries except these five, four of which share a border with Ukraine.
However, to get to Europe, Ukrainian products must first cross the territory of the countries bordering Ukraine.
President Zelenskyy has called for the lifting of any blockade on the transportation of Ukrainian agricultural products by land when the current agreements expire in September.
Background. Up to 40% of the infrastructure of the Chornomorsk port has been damaged so far, with the oil and grain terminals suffering the most damage. Read more about this in Mind's article "Ukrainian port infrastructure under fire, sea blocked: what opportunities for agricultural exports does Ukraine have?".