The government of Slovakia has decided to suspend the importation of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine, the CFTS portal reports, citing the Ukrinform state news agency.
"The decision was made during an online government meeting," Slovakia’s Minister of Agriculture Samuel Vlcan said.
The relevant decision was made because of the unsatisfactory results of an analysis of 1,500 tons of wheat from Ukraine. A pesticide that "is not allowed in the EU and has a negative impact on human health" was found in a control sample.
According to him, the ban will come into effect on 19 April.
However, Slovakia decided not to impose restrictions on the transportation of Ukrainian agricultural products in transit through its territory to third countries.
The head of Slovakia’s State Veterinary and Food Administration, Jozef Bíreš, added that the administration was inspecting all agricultural products imported from Ukraine.
Two other countries have imposed similar bans. On April 15, the Polish government imposed a ban on the importation of agricultural products from Ukraine until June 30. On April 16, Hungary imposed a temporary ban on the importation of agricultural products, including grain and oil crops, from Ukraine.
The European Commission has stated that the unilateral decisions by Poland and Hungary to restrict the import of agricultural products from Ukraine are unacceptable.
