Poland and Romania are not ready to expand the transit of Ukrainian grain through their territory — the countries claim that their own farmers are their priority.
Politico writes about this.
Ukraineʼs Minister of Agrarian Policy Taras Vysotsky visited Brussels this week to ask the EU to increase the ability to transport Ukrainian agricultural products through Europe and to allocate €1.1 billion to cover transportation costs.
In a comment to reporters, Romanian Agriculture Minister Barna Tancios said that the surplus of Ukrainian grain, combined with low water levels on the Danube, is already overloading the countryʼs ports and preventing Romanian farmers from selling their goods.
Romania says it is trying to streamline its logistics. Last month, Bucharest signed a memorandum of understanding with Kyiv that includes simplifying border crossings and developing rail connections.
The Polish Ministry of Infrastructure also stated that it "does not plan to introduce any changes aimed at increasing the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products".
Politico recalls that Poland, Slovakia and Hungary have already banned the import of Ukrainian grain before. According to Vysotsky, currently less than half of Ukrainian exports can be exported through European rail, road and river routes. If the blockade continues, up to 35 million tons of grain may remain in Ukraine this year.
- On September 28, it became known that Ukraine is asking the EU to allocate €1.1 billion to export up to 22 million tons of Ukrainian agricultural products bypassing the blocked deep-water ports of “Greater Odesa”.
- Reuters reported that in recent seasons, Ukraine accounted for about 6% of global wheat exports and about 11% of global corn exports, and the country is also a major exporter of oilseeds and vegetable oils. With Russia effectively closing its ports again, commodity prices could rise sharply, affecting consumers around the world.
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