Robert Telus made the statement at a news conference on Monday, Poland's PAP news agency reported.
Meeting the media at a border crossing with Ukraine in the southeastern village of Dorohusk, the Polish agriculture minister stated: “None of the products that have been banned have crossed the Ukrainian-Polish border.”
Telus said he was dispelling “fake news being spread on the internet” that "banned grain" from Ukraine was entering Poland.
He said: “Since 8 p.m. on Saturday, when the decree introducing the embargo was printed, none of the banned products has entered Poland.”
The Polish agriculture minister also stated that, together with his counterparts from other “frontline” countries, he would ask the European Union’s Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis that the bloc restore tariffs on grain and other farm products from Ukraine, the PAP news agency reported.
Polish, Ukrainian governments hold talks on transit of grain
Telus told reporters that Polish government ministers, led by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, met with their "Ukrainian colleagues" earlier on Monday to discuss the transit of Ukrainian products to third markets.
He said: “We are in talks with the Ukrainian side to regulate the issue of transit, because we are not against it.”
Telus added: ”We need a 100-percent guarantee that the products that had destabilised our market won’t be staying in Poland. We are working on policies that will ensure this.”
He also called on the EU’s executive Commission “to take action as soon as possible” to make sure “that the transit of Ukrainian grain to countries other than the ‘frontline’ states is guaranteed.”
Telus told reporters: "We must help Ukraine ... but the costs of assistance to Ukraine should be distributed among all European countries, not borne by just the ‘frontline’ countries.”
He argued that "the Ukrainian side understands the situation of Polish farmers” and vowed that “this issue definitely won’t spoil” Poland’s relations with Ukraine.
“We are working on an agreement," he declared.
Poland, Hungary, Slovakia halt grain imports from Ukraine
Poland and Hungary announced bans on some imports from Ukraine on Saturday to protect their markets from an influx of supply, according to news reports.
Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller said on Sunday that "the decision to ban imports, including transit, of agri-food products from Ukraine has been taken due to the lack of other ways to ensure food security and stabilise the situation on the market."
The Polish ban is effective until June 30 and covers grain, sugar, fruit and vegetables, among other products, according to officials.
Slovakia on Monday banned the import of grain and other farm products from Ukraine, following in the footsteps of Poland and Hungary, but will keep allowing transit to third countries, according to news outlets.
Some Black Sea ports were blocked after Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine in February last year, and large quantities of Ukrainian grain—which is cheaper than that produced in the EU—ended up staying in Central European countries due to logistical bottlenecks, the Reuters news agency reported.
According to local farmers, this has lowered prices and reduced their sales.
At the end of last month, Poland and four other EU countries sent a joint letter to the European Commission, demanding restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports.
On Sunday, the bloc's executive said that unilateral action was unacceptable.
Tuesday is day 419 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, Reuters, tvp.info
