Poland and two other countries neighboring Ukraine have announced bans on importing its agricultural products. The governments say the move is aimed at protecting domestic farmers who have been hit by the domestic distribution of agricultural products that are supposed to be transported to Africa and other regions.

Poland and Hungary made the announcement on Saturday, saying the bans will be in effect until June 30. Slovakia followed suit on Monday.

Ukrainian farm products used to be shipped to Africa and other regions by seaborne routes, but those routes became unavailable after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian agricultural products have been passing through Poland and other countries on their way to ports in other parts of Europe.

But logistics bottlenecks, such as shortages of freight trains and trucks, have left large quantities of products stuck in those countries. Local farmers are struggling in the face of cheaper Ukrainian goods.

Ukraine is calling on the three countries to rethink the measures. Officials at its agriculture and food ministry say, while they understand the plight of farmers in its neighboring nations, Ukrainian farmers are in an even more dire situation.

European Union officials on Monday indicated that they are ready to discuss their responses to the bans, which they said are unacceptable. The EU has been supporting exports of agricultural products from Ukraine.