Poland, Slovakia and Hungary imposed bans after an influx of Ukrainian grain led to protests by local farmers.
Kyiv is considering suing Poland, Hungary and Slovakia over a ban on Ukrainian agricultural products Politics reported the news server.
On Monday, the magazine quoted Ukrainian trade representative Taras Kačka as saying that Kyiv could also impose reciprocal measures on Poland if Warsaw does not drop its additional steps.
“We would be forced to retaliate against additional products and ban the import of fruit and vegetables from Poland,” he said.
In May, the European Union restricted Ukrainian grain to allow Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seed while allowing the transit of those exports elsewhere.
While the restrictions expired last week, Warsaw, Bratislava and Budapest announced bans on Ukrainian grain, saying they were acting in the interest of their economies and that the move was to protect their farmers.
The three countries complained that Ukraine’s grain surplus threatened their domestic markets.
Kachka said the bans were “ridiculous”.
“I think Hungary is making a political statement here that it wants to block trade with Ukraine and also completely ignore Brussels. And that’s why I think it’s a very bold movement against both of us from Budapest,” he said.
The EU let its ban expire on Friday after Ukraine announced it would take measures to tighten controls on exports to neighboring countries.
Kachka said Kyiv was ready to “take responsibility for ensuring that exports from Ukraine do not cause any tsunami in neighboring countries” and introduce a “real-time” grain export license system.
But the Ukrainian official also pointed out that the decision to enforce its bans outside of EU support raised “the biggest systemic concerns” if partners could not trust that Brussels was speaking for the bloc.
According to Politico, Kyiv also plans to sue countries at the World Trade Organization, rather than through a trade deal with the EU.
“I think the whole world should see how EU member states treat their trading partners and their own union, because it can affect other states as well,” he added.
