WARSAW, POLAND — Faced with angry farmers and depressed grain prices due to imports, Poland is asking the European Union to do what it can to limit how much Ukrainian grain enters the EU market, Reuters reported.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he wants the EU to use all the regulatory instruments, such as quotas and tariffs, to limit or block the import of Ukrainian grain into Poland.

After its Black Sea ports were blocked due to Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine found alternative shipping routes through Poland and Romania. Because of logistical bottlenecks, large quantities of cheaper Ukrainian grains have ended up in central European states. This has hurt prices and sales of the local farmers, Reuters reported.

Poland would ask the European Commission to employ a protective clause regarding grain imports to Poland from Ukraine, Agriculture Minister Henryk Kowalczyk said after meeting with farmers’ representatives on March 29. The clause can be introduced in situations where there are market disturbances.

Poland will encourage Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria to do the same, Kowalczyk said.

Farmers have said government aid proposed so far is inadequate.

Poland also will seek to export existing grain stocks to free up storage space by the next harvest, Kowalczyk said.