Poland is considering building agroports to help Ukraine with grain exports

Poland has called on the European Union to increase the capacity of ports to allow more deliveries of Ukrainian grain through the Baltic Sea, writes Bloomberg with reference to the countryʼs Minister of Agriculture Robert Telus.

At the same time, the country wants to continue the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain. According to the Polish government official, Poland is considering the construction of ports for the export of agricultural products. Export of grain from Ukraine through Polish ports increased to 260 000 tons in June, which is more than twice the level of last year.

"We need to help Ukraine, and we understand that. We are thinking about building ports exclusively for transporting grain, so-called agroports," Telus noted in an interview in Warsaw.

Poland is already negotiating with neighboring Lithuania to transfer phytosanitary control from its border to Lithuanian ports in order to speed up the transit of Ukrainian grain. Although terminals in the Baltic Sea are an alternative, "the bulk of cargo will still go through southern ports," the minister informed.

Telus also confirmed that Poland will not lift its domestic ban on the sale of Ukrainian grain when it expires in mid-September.

The minister was outraged by the EUʼs attempts to portray Poland and the coalition as pursuing only their own interests. "We need to build real corridors of solidarity through which Ukrainian goods will go deep into Europe," he said.

Although the glut caused by a surge in imports from Ukraine earlier this year has now been eliminated, Telus expects elevators to fill quickly as prices remain low as Polish farmers harvest the 2023 harvest.

• On April 28, the European Commission reached an agreement with Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia regarding the import of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU. From May 2 to June 5, there was a ban on the free circulation of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds in these five countries. Then the agreement was extended until September 15. The embargo was introduced due to the fact that farmers from Poland and other countries went to protest actions. Agrarians complained that Ukrainian grain settles in countries and is not exported further, due to which the purchase prices for grain fell sharply.
• On July 19, the Ministers of Agriculture of Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia met in Warsaw (Poland) to discuss the import of agricultural products from Ukraine. They believe that the embargo on the import of products from Ukraine should be extended until the end of the year.
• Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that if the European Union does not maintain the ban on grain imports from Ukraine to these five countries after September 15, it will be introduced unilaterally. At the same time, the transit of Ukrainian food through these countries will continue, Moravetsky emphasized.
• On July 19, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyridenko said that Ukraine may apply mirror measures if the European Union continues the ban on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania. The Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal called on Poland to open its borders for the export of Ukrainian grain.