By 2 May, Poland is to lift the ban on imports of dozens of food products from Ukraine and limit the embargo to four products: wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds.
This was reported by Polish RMF24, citing sources in Brussels.
According to the publication, the European Commission is already working on a draft EU regulation banning imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds to five of Ukraine's neighbouring countries, and wants the regulation to come into force on 2 May.
Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia have confirmed that they will lift their national measures as soon as possible. The EC is now waiting for specific decisions on this issue. The idea is to avoid parallel bans.
Background. To recap: On 28 April, in the evening, the European Commission reached an agreement with five Central and Eastern European countries to restrict imports of grain and other food products from Ukraine.
Active negotiations lasted for over a week. As a result, it was decided that Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria will lift their national restrictions on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, which they unilaterally imposed last week.
Instead, the European Commission will ban imports of corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds to 5 member states – Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. At the same time, transit through these countries, imports to other EU member states and third countries will not be restricted. The European Union will also provide about €100 million to support these countries' own agriculture.
Mind looked into how the rules for exporting Ukrainian agricultural products will change in the next marketing season and how this could transform the industry.