The protest will continue round the clock until January 3, Polish state news agency PAP reported on Monday.
Polish farmers launched their blockade of the Medyka checkpoint on Thursday, demanding subsidies on wheat and state-backed loans amid an influx of Ukrainian grain, Polish media reported.
Protesters said they would initially block trucks from reaching the checkpoint between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. every day until Sunday, public broadcaster Polish Radio's IAR news agency reported.
On Monday, they announced an extension of the blockade to 24 hours a day until January 3, according to news outlets.
The organisers of the farmers' blockade also urged politicians to "start resolving the situation at the border," warning that if Ukraine did not "modify its stance," they could "sharpen their protest," the PAP news agency reported.
Polish truckers, farmers block Ukraine border
The farmers' protest at the Medyka checkpoint began after Polish truck drivers on November 6 launched a blockade of the Hrebenne, Dorohusk and Korczowa checkpoints with Ukraine, demanding that the European Union reinstate permits for Ukrainian transport companies entering the bloc.
On Thursday, Polish transport companies announced that the protest at the Dorohusk checkpoint would be extended until February 1, Ukraine's Ukrinform news agency reported.
The Polish protests coincide with concerns in Ukraine that the European Union may not agree next month to launch formal accession talks for it to join the 27-member bloc, a key objective for Kyiv, according to the Reuters news agency.
It reported that prolonged protests and the resulting disruption to trade could affect Ukraine's fragile, wartime economy.
The price of motor vehicle gas (LPG), which is widely used to fuel cars, has surged 30 percent due to the protests, according to an industry analyst cited by Reuters.
On Monday, Ukraine was experiencing fuel supply shortages due to the blockade of the Ukrainian-Polish border, according to Ukrinform.
It cited Ukraine's Deputy Minister for Agrarian Policy and Food, Markiyan Dmytrasevych, as saying in a media interview that there were "issues with such important supplies as, for example, fuel for Ukraine."
Food exports, including grain, have continued thanks to rail and maritime routes, Dmytrasevych said.
On Monday, the queue at the Medyka checkpoint totalled some 1,400 trucks, while at the Korczowa checkpoint around 530 trucks waited to enter Ukraine, the PAP news agency reported.
Monday is day 642 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, Ukrinform