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According to Balin, all large checkpoints with Poland remain blocked, and only Medyka-Sheghini is working, which has low capacity.
Polish government reaches deal with farmers to suspend border blockade. Polish farmers have agreed to suspend their border blockade at the Shehyni-Medyka crossing after reaching an agreement with government representatives, the Polish Agriculture Ministry announced on January 6.
Polish minister opposes extending EU free trade agreement with Ukraine. In his letter, Polish Agriculture Minister Czeslaw Siekierski allegedly pointed out the "counterproductive effects" of the trade liberalization introduced in 2022. He emphasized that excessive imports are related not only to grain but "also sugar, poultry, eggs, soft fruit, and apple concentrate," RMF24 reported.
● Products
Ukrainian entrepreneurs will be punished for violating the rules for exporting agricultural products to some EU countries. As Minister of Agricultural Policy of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi said during an online meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Kyryll Vatev at the end of January, the government has adopted a resolution that improves the rules for exporting certain agricultural products to prevent abuse.
From now on, an enterprise can be excluded from the list of verified members of the agro-industrial complex if the information is received from Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, or Poland that the products loaded for transit through these countries actually remained in one of these countries. For example, if, according to the documents, a shipment went to Greece but was sold in Bulgaria, then the entrepreneur will be excluded from the list of verified agribusiness entities.
The EU is set to implement “specific” restrictions on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products, in an effort to balance the need to allow Ukraine to continue exporting its money-making food products without wrecking the agro-markets of its EU neighbours.
Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary, in a joint letter, demanded import duties on Ukrainian grain, EC trade and agriculture spokesman Olof Gill said.
According to Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine is working on extending its economic visa-free status with the EU, which will allow Ukrainian businesses to continue selling their goods to the EU without quotas, duties, or tariffs. Ukraine expects a constructive position on this issue among its European neighbors.
Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission's Executive Vice President for Trade, said on January 22 that the European Commission will present amendments to EU trade legislation this week, introducing specific measures to regulate the flow of Ukrainian farm products.
The problem of Ukraine’s agricultural power was highlighted last April when the Polish grain market was crashed by a flood of cheap Ukrainian grain nominally transiting Poland on its way to international markets. Warsaw responded to the glut that collapsed prices by banning the import of Ukraine’s grain, a major source of foreign exchange earnings for Kyiv.
Dombrovskis outlined the proposal, highlighting the incorporation of "country-specific safeguards" that empower Brussels to impede imports if a country's market faces the risk of “oversaturation.” The essence of these safeguards is to enable Brussels to manage the influx of agricultural products
48 UKRAINE Country Report February 2024 www.intellinews.com