Ukraine and Poland on Monday started talks aimed toward reaching an settlement after Warsaw banned Ukrainian grain imports, a call deemed “unacceptable” by the European Union.
Ukraine’s grain exports have transited via the EU to different nations because the war-torn nation’s conventional Black Sea routes had been blocked by Russia’s invasion.
Neighboring European states have seen a rise within the arrival of maize, wheat and sunflower from Ukraine, inflicting silos to fill and driving down native costs – resulting in farmers’ protests and the resignation of the Polish agriculture minister.
Food security issues have additionally been raised.
Hungary and Poland banned imports of grain and different meals from Ukraine over the weekend. On Monday Slovakia joined them.
“Negotiations between Ukraine and Poland on exports and transit of Ukrainian agricultural production to and through Poland are still ongoing and will continue tomorrow,” Ukrainian agriculture ministry spokesperson Tetiana Lupova instructed Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The EU’s government arm denounced the bans imposed by Hungary and Poland.
‘Difficult negotiations’
“It is important to underline that trade policy is of EU exclusive competence and, therefore, unilateral actions are not acceptable,” spokesperson Miriam Garcia Ferrer mentioned in Brussels.
“In such challenging times, it is crucial to coordinate and align all decisions within the EU,” she urged.
In May 2022, the EU suspended customs duties on all merchandise imported from Ukraine for one yr and arranged to permit Kyiv to export its grain shares after the closure of the Black Sea delivery lanes following Russia’s invasion.
According to Polish media, talks between a Ukrainian delegation, led by Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and Polish officers happened in Warsaw on Monday.
The earlier day, Ukraine’s Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky mentioned he anticipated “difficult negotiations” on the foodstuffs import situation.
The ban on Ukrainian grain imports “makes it more difficult” to attain “a common victory,” he added.
In Poland the ban will apply to imports of grain, sugar, meat, vegatables and fruits, milk, eggs and different meals objects.
The Hungarian agriculture ministry mentioned grain, oilseeds and several other different agricultural merchandise could be banned.
‘Difficult state of affairs’
Slovakia on Monday introduced its personal ban, which can apply to varied merchandise together with grain, sugar, vegatables and fruits, wine and honey.
Slovakia’s Agriculture Minister Samuel Vlcan instructed journalists that the ban, to come back into impact on Wednesday, is designed to guard the native farming sector in addition to client well being.
Last week his ministry mentioned it had analyzed a pattern of Ukrainian grain and detected “the presence of a pesticide, which is not authorized in the EU and has a negative impact on human health.”
Ukraine’s agriculture ministry mentioned on Saturday that it “regrets” Poland’s ban.
“Polish farmers are facing a difficult situation, but we emphasize that Ukrainian farmers are facing the most difficult situation,” it added in reference to the struggle.
Last month, Brussels proposed to attract 56.3 million euros ($61.5 million) from the EU’s agricultural disaster reserve to assist destabilized farmers in Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
But 5 member states – Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia – have requested for extra help.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
