Ukrainian agricultural products to get to EU faster as Poland eases inspections

Kyiv and Warsaw have agreed to speed up inspections at the Ukrainian-Polish border and simplify exports of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU and third countries.

That’s according to a joint statement signed in Warsaw on Monday by the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Mykola Solsky, and the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, Henryk Kowalczyk, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The parties assumed that Russia’s large-scale aggression against Ukraine severed traditional logistics chains of agriexport supplies, as well as blocked Ukrainian ports through which most agricultural products were transported. In addition, 400 million people across the world may be left without food, which will provoke famine and further migration crises.

Therefore, this encourages the establishment of reliable transit corridors for agricultural exports to third countries and closer cooperation in agriculture between Ukraine and Poland.

Under the agreements, the Ukrainian side will organize transportation of goods through designated border inspection posts in Poland, while the Polish side will review the current requirements for veterinary control of transit cargo of grain coming from Ukraine and ensure the transit of grain at all checkpoints on the Polish border.

As noted, in the first half of May, Poland introduced round-the-clock operations at veterinary border control points. In addition, the parties agreed to increase the number of veterinary inspectors at designated border inspection posts, as well as the possibility of organizing their work 24/7 in the busiest posts to facilitate rapid control over imported and transit goods of plant and animal origin from Ukraine.

It is emphasized that the parties will cooperate in resolving issues of logistics by rail for goods of plant and animal origin and ensuring smooth shipment of agricultural products.

As reported, due to the blockade of Ukrainian seaports, 7 million tonnes of wheat, 14 million tonnes of corn, 3 million tonnes of sunflower oil, and 3 million tonnes of sunflower meal and other crops didn’t make it to the world market. This has already led to a record rise in global market prices and will inevitably result in a global food crisis and rising inflation.