Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania have agreed to relocate inspections of Ukrainian agricultural products from the Ukrainian-Polish border to the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda.

This information is reported by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.

Over the next two days, veterinary, sanitary, and phytosanitary controls for all agricultural cargoes destined for the port of Klaipeda (Lithuania) will be relocated from the Ukrainian-Polish border. This will expedite transit through Polish territory.

It is noted that this decision was reached during an online meeting today between the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Mykola Solskyi, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, Robert Telus, and the Minister of Agriculture of Lithuania, Kęstutis Navickas.

According to Solskyi, it was Ukraine that proposed relocating the inspections from the Ukrainian-Polish border to the Lithuanian port. Ministers from Poland and Lithuania, in turn, indicated that their governments support this mechanism and consider it a constructive step. In particular, Telus stated, “This is a good thing in building this transit, in building this corridor of solidarity that we, as Poland, have built in Europe”.

“Grain crisis”: Details

On July 19, it became known that Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia signed a joint declaration to extend the ban on grain imports from Ukraine after September 15.

On September 13, the EU stated that there were no grounds to extend the export ban from Ukraine. On September 14, the Bulgarian parliament lifted the ban on importing Ukrainian grain.

On September 15, the European Commission decided not to extend restrictions on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products after September 15.

At the same time, Poland stated that it would ignore the EU’s decision. Furthermore, on September 16, the Slovak government decided that the ban on importing wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds from Ukraine would continue until the end of the year.

In response, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine stated its readiness to ban the import of certain goods from Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary if these countries do not agree to lift the unilateral ban on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products.

On September 21, it became known that Poland was ready to seek a compromise regarding the import of Ukrainian grain.

On September 22, the visit of the Prime Minister of Romania to Ukraine was announced to conclude negotiations on grain imports. Against this backdrop, Ukraine, five neighboring countries, and other EU member states will meet in Brussels on September 28 to address the “grain” problem.

On September 24, it was reported that Poland had prepared transit corridors for Ukrainian grain. On September 26, the Ukrainian government adopted a resolution on a new mechanism for verifying and coordinating agricultural exports to Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. Additionally, on September 27, the Prime Minister of Poland stated that the country could impose an embargo on other products from Ukraine.

Photo: open sources