Polish farmers, who have been campaigning for several months against uncontrolled imports of Ukrainian agri-food products, unblocked all border crossings with Ukraine on Monday, according to Polish border guards.
Access to all crossing points into Ukraine was now “unhindered”, said the spokesperson for the Polish border guards, Andrzej Juzwiak, quoted by the media.
Reacting to the news, Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky expressed, in a statement, his gratitude to Poland for “its constructive work” on unblocking the border.
He also noted that the negotiations with Warsaw and the professional associations had not been easy but that “ the main thing is to have obtained a result“, announcing an upcoming discussion session on May 7.
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Polish farmers and truckers have been blocking several border crossings with Ukraine since the end of last autumn, in protest against “ unfair competition » Ukrainian agricultural products flooding European Union (EU) markets.
Their dissatisfaction was also linked to the fact that Ukrainian truckers have been exempt from permits to cross the Polish border since February 2022, which has made their services cheaper and more attractive.
Although border crossings have been opened, trucks carrying embargoed grain products in Poland will still be subject to certain restrictions.
At the end of March, the heads of government of Poland, Donald Tusk, and Ukraine, Denys Chmygal, reported progress during intergovernmental consultations on the agricultural dispute between the two countries.
Mr. Tusk reported progress on import quotas for Ukrainian agricultural products, as well as on the issue of transit of Ukrainian products through Polish territory.
For his part, Mr. Chmygal noted that Ukraine will continue its policy of limiting exports of wheat, corn, sunflower and rapeseed to Poland, introduced following agreements with Warsaw in spring 2023.
With MAP
