Poland wants to ban imports of Ukrainian agricultural products by end of year

Poland believes that the ban on imports of Ukrainian food, which is currently in place until the end of June, is insufficient and will ask the EU for permission to extend it until the end of the year.

Source: Robert Telus, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, at a press conference on the evening of Monday, reported by RMF24 and Polskieradio24

Details: Negotiations between Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice President of the European Commission, and five EU countries (Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary) on the ban on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine are due to resume in Luxembourg on Tuesday.  

During the negotiations, the five EU countries will want to expand the list of products subject to the import ban. In particular, they want to ban imports of apple juice, poultry, flour and fruit.

Telus has noted that Poland will also ask to extend the ban on imports from Ukraine from the end of June 2023 to the end of December 2023.

Quote from Telus: "The European Union has proposed that it [the ban – ed.] should last until June. We, of course, do not agree with this. Until June is not enough, at least until the end of the year. It is very important for us that the mechanisms we are introducing today are in place for longer and protect our Polish market for longer."

More details: One of the mechanisms proposed by the European Commission to resolve the situation was a second package of assistance to affected farmers worth €100 million, but the five EU countries that imposed import restrictions consider this assistance insufficient.

Background: 

On Monday, Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine’s national railway company, resumed transporting Ukrainian agricultural products for export by rail for transit through Poland, which had been suspended since 15 April.

Romania started sealing vehicles carrying Ukrainian agricultural products in transit on Monday, 24 April. 

Currently, five EU countries – Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary – have banned imports of Ukrainian food, primarily grain, until 30 June. Initially, Poland also banned the transit of Ukrainian grain through its territory, but at the end of last week, the transit was unblocked.

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