Polish authorities will close the border for Ukrainian grain from April 1

The Polish authorities have agreed with farmers on subsidies per ton of grain and the temporary closure of the border with Ukraine from April 1 for the transit of certain agricultural products.

The document was signed by representatives of the protesters, Minister of Agriculture Czeslaw Sekerski and State Secretary of the Ministry Michal Kolodziejczak, polskieradio24.pl reports.

The agreement provides for the preservation of the embargo on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine, which has been in effect since mid-September last year. It applies, in particular, to wheat, corn, wheat flour, rapeseed and sunseed.

In addition, the Minister of Agriculture is to address the Council of Ministers of the European Union with a request to suspend the transit of these products through Polish territory as of April 1 this year.

Later, the decision to ban the transit of Ukrainian grain through Poland was confirmed by Michal Kolodziejczak, the State Secretary of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture.

“We assume that this decision will remain in force until an agreement is reached on trade rules between Poland and Ukraine that will protect our market,” the Polish official was quoted as saying in a press release from the Polish Ministry of Agriculture.

He clarified that according to the agreements reached, the ministry will ask the Polish government to suspend the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products that have already been embargoed.

“All sensitive products should be blocked,” the release said.

As reported, the ban on imports of wheat, barley, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine was first imposed by Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria on May 2, 2023 for the period until June 5, and then extended until September 15 after a series of protests at the border with its blockade.

On September 15, the EU lifted the ban after Ukraine promised to take measures to tighten export controls to neighboring countries and subsequently introduced licensing.

However, on the same day, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia imposed unilateral bans on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products. In addition to wheat, rapeseed, sunflower, and corn, Poland banned imports of cereals and flour, while Hungary expanded the list to 25 items.

Tags: Ukraine, corn, Poland, wheat, sunseed, protests, rapeseed