Poland struck a compromise on Tuesday to resume the transit of Ukrainian farm products across its territory to other countries, de-escalating a row that blew up last weekend when Warsaw slapped a unilateral ban on all food imports.
The Polish ban last Saturday came in response to protests by farmers hit by a supply glut that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and subsequent blockade of the Black Sea export route. Hungary and Slovakia quickly followed suit, while Bulgaria and Romania have been considering similar measures as well.
“We managed to come up with mechanisms to ensure that not a single ton [of Ukrainian products] will stay in Poland, that the goods will be transported through Poland … further into Europe or to Polish ports on the Baltic Sea,” Agriculture Minister Robert Telus told a press conference after talks with Ukrainian officials in Warsaw. Telus said the transit restrictions would be lifted on Thursday night.
The restrictions, imposed in possible breach of EU laws, have drawn widespread condemnation from diplomats and policymakers in Brussels and other EU capitals.
“We were forced to do this because the European Union had its eyes closed to the problem in Poland regarding the arrival of large amounts of grain from Ukraine,” Telus said, adding that Ukrainian goods for transit would be escorted through Polish territory to ensure they reach their intended destination.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said her government would ensure that exporters comply with the new rules. “We understand the situation of Polish farmers [and] the Polish side understands the situation of Ukrainian farmers impacted by the war,” Svyrydenko told the same press conference.
Earlier in Brussels, EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said he would hold talks on Wednesday with trade ministers from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia in a bid to resolve the row over restrictions on Ukrainian farm shipments and to improve the operation of so-called solidarity lanes set up by the EU to evacuate exports overland.
Dombrovskis said it was important to ensure that Ukrainian grain, in particular, can transit through EU territory and reach “countries it was primarily intended for, which are mostly in the developing world — countries that are still suffering due to food instability caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine.”
Leonie Kijewski and Hannah Brenton contributed reporting.
