Ukraine and Poland agreed to find a solution for grain

The Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Mykola Solskyi, agreed with his Polish colleague Robert Telus to find a solution regarding the import of grain that takes into account the interests of both countries.

The press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy writes about it.

The ministers discussed the grain crisis and the Ukrainian proposal to settle the situation. Soon the countries will work out an option for cooperation on export issues.

The next negotiations will take place in the coming days. They will discuss prepared questions from both sides. Meanwhile, the Poles will study the Ukrainian export plan and prepare their proposals for it.

• On April 28, 2023, 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 it is not exported further, due to which the purchase prices for grain fell sharply.
• On September 15, the European Commission did not extend the embargo on Ukrainian grain. Poland has declared that it will extend it unilaterally. Subsequently, Hungary and Slovakia announced the same steps.
• Ukraine is preparing a lawsuit against Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia in World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitration over the grain embargo. At the same time, Ukraine changed the rules of grain export at the request of the European Commission.
• The day before, Volodymyr Zelenskyi said at the UN General Assembly that "some friends in Europe are undermining solidarity with political theater, making a thriller out of grain." For this, the Ukrainian ambassador was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that the ambassador "once again clarified the position regarding the unacceptability of the Polish unilateral ban on the import of Ukrainian grain."
• On September 20, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that his country is currently not transferring weapons to Ukraine because it is focused on rearming its own army. The statement was made on the eve of parliamentary elections in Poland and against the backdrop of tensions with Ukraine over the import of Ukrainian grain.