Poland plans to start phytosanitary checks on Ukrainian grain transiting its territory

MOSCOW. Feb 12 (Interfax) - Poland plans to start checks on all grain shipments from Ukraine starting from February 12, Polish Deputy Agriculture Minister Michal Kolodziejczak said.

"We will give clear instructions today to check the entire grain transit on the border with Ukraine," Ukrainian media quoted Kolodziejczak as saying in a statement circulated by the Polish media outlet pap.pl.

When asked by journalists about plans to publish the list of companies that imported grain from Ukraine, the deputy minister said that 15,000 instances of feed grain transportation were registered. The smallest one of them was the size of a truck, while the largest was "a whole train, that is several dozen railcars," he said.

Most of that grain was not checked in Poland, he said.

The grain inspection procedures on the border are "controversial," Kolodziejczak said, adding that he himself "does not trust any importer or exporter of products from abroad that has submitted its tests to us."

"At today's meeting with various services, I will demand that all grain shipments that are exported and subject to embargo be examined in Poland. I will be lobbying for these rules," Kolodziejczak said, noting that clear instructions will be issued on Monday to check all grain on the Ukrainian-Polish border that is subject to sealing and subsequent transit.

When such grain reaches Germany and, after examination, turns out to be of poor quality, 99% of the time it returns to Poland as European grain, he said.

Grain shipments in ports will undergo similar checks.

Kolodziejczak said that on Monday he will submit a request for a detailed list of grain shipments exported from ports, as well as for a list of grain batches imported to Poland by German companies.

He said he has ordered to create an information platform for farmers to report problems and violations directly to the ministry by phone or via the Internet.

Tm ap