BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — The European Commission (EC) announced on June 5 that it was extending a measure that allows five European Union (EU) countries — Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia — to restrict imports of Ukraine grain through Sept. 15.

All five countries have seen a significant increase in grain imports from Ukraine since the Black Sea Grain Initiative was signed in July 2022, allowing Ukraine exports to resume after Russia blockaded the country’s ports for the first five months of the war between the two countries.

The restrictions, which were due to expire June 5, concern four agricultural products — wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seed — originating in Ukraine.

When it first issued the ban on May 2, the EC said the surge in traffic at the borders between Ukraine and the EU has had an impact on logistics costs and created bottlenecks, resulting in saturated storage capacities and logistical chains. This has hampered the economic viability of producers in those countries.

The EC said the measures are part of the overall support package that it has put forward and is being complemented with financial support for farmers in the five member states. The measures also are facilitating the transit of Ukrainian grain exports via solidarity lanes to other member states and third countries.

Ukraine’s government has condemned the restrictions as “categorically unacceptable.”