The government in Kiev is trying to lift the import ban on Ukrainian grain and foodstuffs decided by Poland. Minister of Agriculture Mykola Solskyj announced talks in Warsaw that should start around noon. The first step should be to open up the transit of goods via Poland. This is “pretty important and should be done unconditionally. And after that we will talk about other things.”
Poland and Hungary announced at the weekend – unilaterally and without consulting the responsible EU Commission – that they would stop imports of grain and other foodstuffs from Ukraine. They justify this by wanting to avert damage to local agriculture.
Central European countries have large stocks of Ukrainian grain, which is cheaper than grain produced in the European Union. Due to logistical problems, it was not transported further. This depresses prices and sales opportunities for local farmers.