Poland won’t open its market for Ukrainian grain – PM

Doing so could harm local farmers, Mateusz Morawiecki has said

Poland does not plan to open its market for Ukrainian grain after the termination of the Black Sea grain deal, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters on Tuesday.

Russia announced on Monday that it would not extend its participation in the UN-facilitated arrangement that allowed Ukrainian agricultural products be exported via the Black Sea, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Asked whether there is a chance that the grain from Ukraine will be shipped to Poland now that the deal is off, Morawiecki pledged that Warsaw will not allow it and will continue to defend the interests of Polish farmers.

“We will probably be very tough when it comes to protecting the Polish market,” Morawiecki said, adding that Poland will continue to help the EU transit Ukrainian grain. He noted, however, that Polish markets will remain closed for Ukrainian agricultural products.

“This is a task for the European Commission, for the US administration in working out appropriate mechanisms for exporting Ukrainian grain. We can play a part, but we will not be forced to open our market to the detriment of the interests of the Polish farmers,” the prime minister said.

Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria have suffered substantial losses due to the influx of Ukrainian grain that came after the EU suspended customs duties on the country’s agricultural products following the launch of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine last year.

READ MORE: Five EU states want Ukraine grain ban extended – official

In order to protect local farmers, in May, Brussels imposed ‘temporary restrictions’ on imports of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower oil to the five member states, which will be in force until September 15. The ban does not prohibit the transit of Ukrainian grain through the territories of these countries.

Hungary’s minister of agriculture, Istvan Nagy, said last week that the five EU countries will be calling for an extension of this ban beyond September 15 and until the end of the year, as it is “the only way to protect the interests of European farmers.”

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