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Poland will extend the ban on Ukrainian agricultural products after September 15. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Robert Telush confirmed that after September 15, the ban on importing Ukrainian grain to Poland will be extended, reports polskieradio.pl. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister of Poland Yaroslav Kaczyński clearly stated: "After September 15, Ukrainian grain will not enter Poland. We will protect Polish agriculture," said Telush. In mid-September, the ban on importing wheat, corn, sunflower seeds, and rapeseed from Ukraine in Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary will cease to apply. Five countries neighboring Ukraine favor extending the ban at least until the end of the year. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Poland will maintain the ban even without the consent of the European Commission.
France and Germany are against the further ban on Ukrainian grain imports. At a meeting of EU agriculture ministers on July 25, France and Germany expressed their opposition to the further extension of the ban on Ukrainian grain imports after September 15, which is insisted on by the five Eastern European countries. During the meeting in Brussels, the German and French ministers supported Ukraine's position, which opposes the extension of the European Commission's temporary ban on importing Ukrainian agricultural products to five EU countries: Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria. European Commission spokeswoman Miriam García Ferrer said that Brussels is working intensively with the five EU member states and Ukraine to find an acceptable solution, reported AFP.
The EU does not yet have the funds for the land transit of grain from Ukraine. The European Commission has no money in the budget for immediate use and no clear way to help finance the extra transport costs for Ukrainian grain exports that will accompany the end of the Black Sea deal, reported Reuters. Ukraine, one of the world's biggest grain exporters, will now have to rely almost entirely on expensive routes through the EU, and the cheapest alternative artery, the Danube River, may not be able to expand its volume as much as hoped after Russian attacks. Ukraine's agriculture ministry asked EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis for the EC to provide financial aid for the extra transport costs associated with using alternate EU routes known as Solidarity Lanes. Ukraine estimates the additional cost to be $30-$40 a ton.
29 UKRAINE Country Report August 2023 www.intellinews.com