The European Union has reached a deal with five member nations to lift their bans on the transit of Ukrainian grain exports. The EU will instead offer financial relief to farmers hit by an influx of Ukrainian grains.

European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis announced on his Twitter account on Friday that they had reached an agreement in principle to resume the transit.

Dombrovskis says the five countries will withdraw their unilateral bans on Ukrainian farm products, while the EU will provide a support package worth 100 million euros, or some 110 million dollars, for affected farmers.

The EU has helped Ukraine export wheat and other produce via member countries after ports on the Black Sea became unusable following Russia's invasion.

But the five countries neighboring Ukraine, including Poland and Hungary, have recently banned imports of Ukrainian produce.

They said Ukraine's agricultural shipments to Africa and elsewhere are in fact being distributed in their countries, pushing down prices and hitting their farmers hard.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the agreement.

She wrote on Twitter that the deal "preserves both Ukraine's exports capacity so it continues feeding the world, and our farmers' livelihoods."