Poland is ready to find a compromise on imports of Ukrainian grain. Ukraine expects to solve the problem by the end of the week

The three EU countries that have imposed national bans on the export of Ukrainian agricultural products are ready to consider a mechanism for joint verification and approval of supplies proposed by Ukraine. This was stated by Taras Kachka, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine and Trade Representative of Ukraine, during a telethon.

According to him, on Monday, the Ukrainian side presented a plan to control agricultural exports to all neighboring countries.

“We have a very good response from Romania and Bulgaria, which reacted quite positively and did not impose national bans. The other three countries, including Poland, are also already giving positive signals about their readiness to consider the mechanism proposed by Ukraine,” Kachka explained.

He noted that in fact, Ukraine has proposed to introduce a mechanism for joint verification and approval of supplies of four types of agricultural goods (wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds) to five EU countries.

“This will not solve the problem completely, because it will actually indicate that trade between Ukraine and these five EU countries is conducted manually. But it will be a step forward and a rejection of prohibitions that are unacceptable to us in form. The Ukrainian proposal could become the basis for resolving the issue of agricultural exports to the five EU countries.

The Polish side has already stated that it is ready to work on solving this problem. I believe that we will be able to reach a compromise by the end of the week,” assured Deputy Minister Taras Kachka.

Earlier, Polish Minister of Agriculture Robert Telus also announced the readiness of the Polish side to find a solution to the problem of Ukrainian grain.

“We are waiting for such negotiations and are ready for such negotiations to take place,” he said and added that Poland is open to finding a solution that will secure the Polish market, protect it and help Ukraine.

As a reminder, on September 15, the European Commission refused to extend the temporary ban on imports of Ukrainian wheat, corn, sunflower seeds and rapeseed to five EU countries neighboring Ukraine, despite the insistence of the governments of Poland and Hungary.

Following this, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia announced their decision to unilaterally block imports of Ukrainian agricultural products. The Polish news agency PAP also reported that these countries had stopped participating in the Coordination Platform, which was established under the auspices of the European Commission to address this issue.

In response, Ukraine requested consultations with Slovakia, Poland and Hungary, in accordance with the rules and procedures for dispute settlement under the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO). In addition, Ukraine has warned Poland and Hungary of imposing restrictions on imports of agricultural products from these countries.

Tags: Ukraine, grain, Poland, restrictions