From April 1, Poland will stop the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products.
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This was stated by the country’s Minister of Development and Technology Krzysztof Gietman, writes the state press agency of Poland (PAP).
It is prohibited to export Ukrainian rapeseed, corn, wheat and sunflower to Poland. New restrictions in the form of licensing are planned to be introduced for a number of products, including sugar, eggs and poultry meat and fruits, especially apples.
In addition, it is planned to license agricultural exports from Ukraine, which will allow introducing new restrictions on the import of Ukrainian products to Poland.
Minister of Development and Technology Krzysztof Gietman said on Radio Lublin on Monday that negotiations are continuing with Ukraine regarding a licensing system for trade in agricultural products from Ukraine. He added that he hoped they would be completed this week.
We have made progress in negotiations with Ukraine on a licensing system that our predecessors were unable to organize. We are already at the stage of negotiations with the Ukrainian side on sensitive products. I hope that these negotiations will continue this week and are aimed at completion (…),” Getman said.
Asked about the farmers’ protests, the minister said that many, if not all, of the Green Deal’s demands have been met.
Over the past three months, in connection with the agrarian protests, a lot has been achieved, especially regarding the legitimate demands of farmers under the Green Deal, the minister said.
Speaking about the glut of wheat in Poland, Getman recalled that the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Czeslaw Sekierski is planning subsidies.
We hope, because we also spoke with the Ukrainian side, that even transit – primarily corn and wheat – will practically end after April 1,” Hetman noted.
On the night of Tuesday to Wednesday in Jasionka near Rzeszow, an agreement was signed between representatives of agricultural organizations and Minister Sekierski, in particular: regulation of economic relations with Ukraine. The document, in particular, stipulates that the Minister of Agriculture should appeal to Prime Minister Donald Tusk with a request to suspend the transit of embargoed agricultural products from Ukraine through Poland.
The parties also noted that trade relations between both countries should be regulated, including market access for products such as grains, canola, corn, sugar, poultry, eggs, soft fruits and apples, among others.
The agreement also contains provisions for subsidizing grain sold since January 1 of this year. and on May 30 this year, maintaining agricultural tax levels at 2023 levels or supporting the social side of the government’s Green Deal changes, such as limiting eco-schemes and simplifying rules for helping farmers.
On March 15, the European Commission published draft amendments to two regulations related to the Green Deal. Proposals include, but are not limited to: eliminating the obligation to leave 4% of arable land fallow, choosing between crop diversification and crop rotation, and making it easier to maintain soil cover.
Sanctions related to the implementation of environmental standards will not be applied to farms up to 10 hectares.
Meanwhile, five EU countries are calling for a ban on grain imports from Russia and Belarus. The agriculture ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic have appealed to the European Commission to ban grain imports from Russia and Belarus into the European Union.
This was reported by the press service of the Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture.
The appeal also proposes that the ban apply to the entire territory of the European Union.
The ministers of these five countries noted the importance of implementing measures to prevent grain stolen from Ukraine from entering the European market.
Consideration of this issue is planned at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries of the EU.
Let us remind you that the Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture initiated an investigation into the origin of grain imported into the country. This was preceded by receiving information from the Minister of Agricultural Policy of Ukraine that Russia was profiting from the export of grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to third countries.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.