Deputy Prime Minister Henryk Kowalczyk and Minister Mykola Solskyi on the transit of agricultural products from Ukraine
22.12.2022
Transit of agricultural products from Ukraine through the territory of Poland was the main topic of talks between Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Henryk Kowalczyk and Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi. The meeting took place today in a remote format. Deputy Minister Rafał Romanowski also participated.
Grain from Ukraine
The Deputy Prime Minister also announced his participation in the Ukrainian side's 'Grain from Ukraine' initiative. Under this initiative, Ukraine plans to send at least 60 ships in the first half of 2023 to the most famine-affected countries in Africa and Asia.
Minister Solskyi raised the issue of grain transported by truck across the Polish-Ukrainian border. Deputy Prime Minister Kowalczyk said that due to irregularities in the trade of grain for technical purposes, supervision of grain coming into Poland from Ukraine had been strengthened. The Head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development stressed that continued support for grain exports from Ukraine to the EU could not occur without appropriate controls to eliminate risks for Polish agricultural producers and consumers. In this situation, Minister Solskyi proposed an improvement involving the separation of vehicles transporting agri-food goods. Discussions on this topic will continue at the expert level.
Polish - Ukrainian cooperation
Deputy Prime Minister Kowalczyk summarised the state of cooperation in the agri-food sector. He expressed his satisfaction with the Ukrainian side’s implementation of actions undertaken to recognise the regionalisation of Polish territory in relation to ASF. He announced activities being carried out to develop a cross-border pipeline project for the transport of vegetable oils from Ukraine to the port of Gdańsk.
Wishes for peace
At the end of the meeting, the Ministers exchanged Christmas wishes. Deputy Prime Minister Kowalczyk wished his Ukrainian partners peace in their country and that Poland and Ukraine could return to peaceful good neighbourly relations. Minister Solskyi thanked for the support Ukraine received from the Polish side.
Polish exports to Ukraine
Ukraine is a significant partner of Poland in trade in agri-food goods. In the period I-X 2022, Poland recorded an increase in agricultural exports to the Ukrainian market by approximately 20% (from EUR 652.1 million to EUR 785.6 million). Cheese and cottage cheese, animal feed products, coffee, water, and pork were mostly exported.
