Poland insists on extension of EU's import curbs on Ukrainian grain

LONDON

Poland's agriculture minister said that Warsaw will call on the EU to extend the import ban on Ukrainian grain, local media reported on Sunday.

Speaking at a news conference in Czestochowa, southern Poland, Robert Telus said that extending the import ban until the end of 2023 is beneficial for the country's farmers and for the EU, public broadcaster Polish Radio reported.

His remarks, calling them "a message from Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki," came ahead of the next week's meeting of the EU agricultural ministers in Spain.

Telus said that even if the EU decides to end the import ban on Ukrainian grain, Poland will not allow the import of Ukrainian grain.

He added that "the interest of Polish farmers is more important than any of the bloc's regulations."

According to the report, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria also support the extension of the ban besides Poland.

In June, the European Commission announced that it would extend the ban on Ukrainian grain until Sept. 15, an arrangement allowing five of Ukraine’s EU neighbors – Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia – to ban domestic sales of some Ukrainian grains.

The "exceptional and temporary preventive measures" was adopted on May 2 on imports of wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seed from Ukraine under the exceptional safeguard of the Autonomous Trade Measures Regulation.