Ukraine and Poland reached the agreement to facilitate the procedures for the export of Ukrainian grain and oilseeds in transit through Poland to other countries

Today, on March 3, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi had a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland Henryk Kowalczyk in Warsaw. As a result of the meeting, the parties reached the arrangements stipulated in the joint statement:

1. In order to improve and organize the transit of Ukrainian grain and oilseeds through the territory of Poland, starting from March 8, 2023, official seals (customs seals) will be mandatorily applied to trucks at customs checkpoints located at Polish-Ukrainian border.

2. In the case of railway transportation, the carrier will be obliged to put seals on each railroad car. These seals will be controlled by the National Revenue Administration at the Polish-Ukrainian border crossings.

3. The official seals will be removed by the National Revenue Administration in three Polish seaports (Gdansk, Gdynia, Świnoujście).

4. In case of transit of goods to other EU member states, the official seals will be removed at the authorized storage facilities located in these countries. At the same time, a record of the arrival of the consignment at the designated location for the purpose of removing the seals will be available through the NCTS system.

5. In the case of transit to ports or other EU member states, provided that official seals are used, the Polish Veterinary Inspectorate will not carry out any inspections.

6. In the case of discrepancies between the declared and the actual place of unloading of the commodities, the Ukrainian party will suspend the freight forwarders who allowed such discrepancies from further transportation operations.

Mykola Solskyi emphasized that it was an honest and right conversation. “We have achieved mutually beneficial results. It is important that these agreements take into account the interests of both Polish and Ukrainian farmers who transit grain to other countries and Polish ports. We plan to implement these procedures in the upcoming days. And next week, the transport will start moving under new rules. This will reduce queues at the borders and make trade between our countries more comfortable,” the Minister emphasized.

It should be reminded that in recent weeks, Ukrainian grain exports have been slowed down at the border with Poland due to increased veterinary and phytosanitary control. As a result, the time for cargo inspection has increased, resulting in long queues. Recently, Mykola Solskyi emphasized at the coordination board that the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine is working to solve this problem.

Tags: Ukraine, export, grain, Poland