No food shortages in Poland and EU due to war in Ukraine says official

There will be no food shortages either in Poland or in the European Union due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a Polish deputy agriculture minister has said.

"There will be no food shortage in the EU, there will be no food shortage in Poland. We have a food surplus," Ryszard Bartosik told reporters after a meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Brussels on Monday.

"But as far as North Africa is concerned, such problems may appear," the official continued, adding that, in the long run, this could have a significant impact on migration.

Bartosik said that, in this situation, it was extremely important to make sure that grain shipments from Ukraine could resume. He added that everything would depend on the situation in the war-torn country but admitted that it could be very difficult if exports by sea were impossible.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine - two major global wheat suppliers - has sent prices for grains and other food products soaring. It has stalled Kyiv's exports, leaving dozens of ships stranded and some 20 million tonnes of grain stuck in silos at Odesa.