Ukraine halts grain exports to Poland to ease supply pressure on market

Poland will temporarily suspend purchases of Ukrainian grain as imports have caused problems with prices on the domestic market.

Ukraine won't export wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower to Poland until the start of the new harvest season, Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus says.

"The Ukrainian side has proposed to severely limit, and at the moment even completely stop the supply of grain to Poland for some time. We are not talking about transit – it will be closely monitored," Telus said at a joint briefing with his Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Solskyy.

He thanked Ukraine for willingness to solve this problem together.

"We will probably meet on Friday (14 April). We will sign a document that will define what we we have agreed upon today. It will be a document that will be implemented jointly by the Ukrainian and Polish sides," Telus added.

Poland will temporarily stop buying Ukrainian grain. This does not affect transit but will be closely monitored.

"We are counting on the most constructive position of the Polish side during the transit of Ukrainian grain to Polish ports and ports of other EU countries," the Ukrainian minister said.

Earlier, Henryk Kowalczyk, the deputy prime minister and minister of agriculture and rural development of Poland, who had been in office since October 2021, resigned in protest against the situation with imports of Ukrainian grain.

Last year, Ukraine exported 2.3 million tons of agricultural products. 1.7 million tons were shipped through ports (sea and river), 486,000 tons by rail, 166,000 tons by car, and 18,000 tons. The largest shipment was corn – 1.1 million tons, wheat – 437 thousand tons, and meal and soybeans for 199 thousand tons of each crop.