Ukrainian grain will not be allowed to enter Poland after September 15
The Polish agriculture minister has said that Poland will extend the ban on imports of Ukrainian grain after September 15.
"We will not allow Ukrainian grain to enter Poland after September 15 as the interests of Polish farmers are for us more important than any EU regulations," Robert Telus said in Czestochowa, southern Poland, on Sunday.
On April 28, the 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 a temporary ban regarding imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine. Last month it prolonged the ban until September 15.
Telus is going to Spain on Monday to attend a summit meeting of EU agriculture ministers in order to seek EU's support for the extension of the ban.
"We know what could happen if Ukrainian grain entered Poland after September 15," Telus said, adding that this would make the situation more difficult as "grain prices are low and storehouses are full of grain."
"As we are convinced that this (ban -PAP) is in our interest, we will defend it," he said.
Janusz Kowalski, a deputy agriculture minister, added that the Polish government had already offered subsidies worth PLN 15 billion (EUR 3.3 billion) to Polish farmers while the EU's aid had reached only PLN 300 million (EUR 66.7 million).
