Poland will not open its border for cereal products from Ukraine after September 15, when the EU ban expires, Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister has said.

On April 28, the European Commission (EC) reached an agreement with Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia on restrictions on imports of Ukrainian agri-food products, and on May 2 it announced the adoption of temporary ban regarding imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine. Last month it prolonged the ban until September 15.

Speaking during a press conference on Wednesday, Morawiecki announced that Poland „will not open its border (with Ukraine for grain products - PAP).”

He pointed out that the EC needs to work on „regulations that will extend this ban, or we will do it ourselves.”

The prime minister’s declaration follows an agreement struck earlier on Wednesday by the agriculture ministers of five ‘frontline’ EU member states - Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania - all bordering Ukraine. The ministers signed a joint position on extending the ban on the import of four types of grain from Ukraine until the end of 2023.

Poland is still enabling grain transit from Ukraine.

„Poles earn money on transit, there’s no risk of destabilising the internal market, which is why we facilitate this export and enable transit,” Morawiecki said.

He added that the war in Ukraine was causing more and more serious consequences and repercussions, especially on the Polish agricultural market.

„Everything that is bad for Polish agriculture must be either blocked, changed or compensated,” Morawiecki said. (PAP)

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