Poland will resume Ukrainian food transit through the country according to a deal reached, the press service of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine has said.
On Tuesday, 18 April, Poland and Ukraine resumed negotiations on the transit of Ukrainian food and grain. As a result of the discussions, the countries managed to reach an agreement on the transit of Ukrainian grain through Poland.
"As a result of the talks, it was decided that the transit of Ukrainian agricultural goods through Poland will be unblocked on the night of Friday, 21 April, and Saturday, 22 April," said Economy Minister Yuliya Svyrydenko.
She clarified that the government is now awaiting official communication from the Polish side on the technical aspects of transporting Ukrainian products through Poland.
According to Polish Minister of Agriculture Robert Telus, his country has managed to develop mechanisms to ensure that grain does not remain in Poland during transit. He specified that a special monitoring system would be introduced for this purpose.
"Ukrainian grain shipments through Poland will be sealed with electronic seals with GPS," the minister added.
Earlier, the European Commission has responded to Hungary and Poland's ban on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine and stated that trade policy is only within the EU's competence and that unilateral actions are unacceptable.
Vice-President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis invited trade ministers of five countries, whose leaders had sent a joint letter to the EC, to negotiate on the issue of Ukrainian grain.