Slovakia bans import, flouring of Ukrainian grain

MOSCOW. April 14 (Interfax) - The Agricultural Ministry of Slovakia has on Thursday imposed a ban on processing of grain imported from Ukraine and sales of flour produced from it on the domestic market.

The relevant order was published on the ministry's official website, Ukrainian media outlets said.

The decision on such ban was made in Slovakia after "the presence of a pesticide prohibited in the European Union and having a negative impact on human health was confirmed" in a batch of grain from Ukraine weighing 1,500 tonnes.

"The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, together with its subordinate organizations, will ensure the selection of samples of all grain and flour from Ukraine already stored in Slovakia," the ministry said.

Slovakia will inform the member states of the European Union and Ukrainian Ambassador Miroslav Kastran about the results of the analysis of the batch of Ukrainian grain.

"The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic does not recommend importing any Ukrainian grain and grain products," the ministry said without specifying the duration of the ban.

Poland announced last week that it would temporarily cease importing Ukrainian grain in order to mitigate the influence on prices, while still permitting its transit. Throughout the week, Polish public organizations actively discussed the quality of Ukrainian grain and created a special team to investigate its sales on the domestic market.

Last week, a batch of corn with an increased content of pesticides was detected in Hungary.

Romanian farmers demand that transit and import of grain from Ukraine be banned for the period from June 15, 2023, to March 15, 2024. If the authorities do not comply with this demand, they are threatening to launch a large-scale nationwide protest rally on June 7.