Poland takes steps to ensure it has no grain from Ukraine left - media

WARSAW. April 18 (Interfax) - The authorities in Poland came up with a mechanism whereby no Ukrainian grain would remain on Polish territory, Polish radio reported on Tuesday.

"Transport vehicles carrying grain from Ukraine through Poland will be under the control of a special system that will make sure that not a tonne of grain from Ukraine remains in Poland and the products go in transit," Agriculture Minister Robert Telus was quoted on the radio as saying.

"Every transport vehicle with Ukrainian grain which goes via Poland will be sealed with GPS sensors," he said.

First, each van from Ukraine via Poland will be accompanied by a convoy, he said.

As for the grain already in Poland, Telus said: "The grain surplus, around four million tonnes, will leave Poland before July to free up space for the new harvest."

It was reported that Poland and two other European Union members, Hungary and Slovakia, simultaneously banned grain imports from Ukraine to protect their agricultural producers. Bulgaria might follow suit. The European Commission (EC) said the three countries' decisions made unilaterally were unacceptable.

The Polish ban applies not only to grain but any agricultural product from Ukraine until June 30, 2023.

EC spokesperson Miriam Garcia Ferrer said the legal side of the Polish and Hungarian decisions would be examined at the EU level.