Posted on September, 13, 2023 at 02:17 am
Poland on Tuesday (Sep 12) called on the European Union to extend the embargo on imports of Ukrainian grain ahead of the deadline by the end of this week and said that it would continue to block domestic imports even if Brussels lifts the ban. In response, Kyiv has warned that it would seek international arbitration over the restrictions.
The restrictions in question were imposed by the EU back in May, which allowed member nations, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian grains like wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds.
The ban, which was designed to ease excess supply and is set to expire Friday (Sep 15), did not affect the transit of Ukrainian grain for export elsewhere.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he has requested that the European Commission extend its ban on Ukrainian grain or else “we will do it ourselves because we cannot allow for a deregulation of the market.”
Morawiecki, who was addressing the farmers in Kosow Lacki in Poland’s farming east region, said that the October 15 elections will be key for the future of the country’s agriculture.
This comes as the ruling conservative Law and Justice party has sought to attract farmer voters for its campaign and said that the cheaper Ukrainian grain makes domestic production unprofitable.
The Polish government has also faced pressure from domestic farmers to stand firm ahead of next month’s parliamentary election.
“We will not open the borders to Ukrainian grain! Embargo stays,” Morawiecki said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
But it is not just Warsaw that wants the ban extended, as the five central European countries have sought the extension of the ban on Ukrainian grain until the end of the year, said the Polish agriculture minister Robert Telus, last month.
He also said that the five countries’ agriculture ministers have also supported the call for an extension of the ban while supporting grain transit subsidies.
After the Polish PM’s remarks his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal, took to X and said “We have no intention of harming Polish farmers. We greatly appreciate the support of the Polish people and Polish families!”
He added, “But in case of violation of trade law in the interest of political populism before the elections, Ukraine will be forced to turn to WTO (World Trade Organization) arbitration…”
Poland’s remarks also come at a crucial time when maintaining the grain exports is important for Ukraine considering Russia backed out of the agreement which provided a safe passage for Kyiv’s grains to be exported via the Black Sea route.
However, the Ukrainian government has said that it would be able to export around 50 million metric tons of agricultural goods in the 2023/24 July-June season, reported Reuters.
Source: WION