Poland, Ukraine to begin technical talks on verifying Ukrainian grain imports

MOSCOW. Jan 24 (Interfax) - Poland will start technical talks with Ukraine on issuing export licenses for Ukrainian agricultural products' supplies to Poland in a few days, which will put an end to the trade dispute between Warsaw and Kiev, Ukrainian media reported, citing Polish Agriculture Minister Czeslaw Siekierski as saying to polskieradio24.pl.

"Our specialists from the Agriculture Ministry will talk to specialists from the Ukrainian Agriculture Ministry and discuss details. There will be licenses that will determine the volume of exports. These licenses will also specify the recipient where the goods are being shipped. We want to formalize it slightly, but at the same time organize trade flows. We will also be the holders of these licenses and will be verifying the import of these goods to Poland," he said.

The launch of talks does not mean that the embargo has been lifted, Siekierski said. For now, it will remain in place.

"Until we agree on bilateral rules for the movement of goods, the embargo will not be lifted. Only if we agree on certain things, we will be able to talk about lifting the embargo," Siekierski said.

If Poland and Ukraine reach an agreement to verify Ukrainian agricultural products, this will mean trade restrictions. Whereas the European Union's agreement with Ukraine is designed to liberalize trade. The European Commission (EC), which is responsible for trade policy, will not interfere with the Polish-Ukrainian negotiations, Siekierski said.

As reported, last week the agriculture ministers of Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary in a joint letter to the EC demanded the introduction of import duties on Ukrainian grain due to dumping prices for it in these countries.

On September 15, 2023, the EC said that it would not extend the restrictions on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine to the Group of Five (G5) countries imposed on May 2, while certain conditions would be met to avoid a new surge in supplies. The restrictions concerned imports of wheat, rapeseed, sunflower and corn. The G5 countries said that Ukrainian agricultural products, when imported duty-free to the EU, were ending up in their countries and harming the local agricultural sector.

After the restrictions were lifted, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia imposed unilateral bans. Ukraine is currently negotiating the introduction of a licensing procedure for exports of Ukrainian agricultural products with mandatory verification in each of the five countries.