Minister: Poland ready to impose indefinite embargo on grain from Ukraine

The Polish government's decision to ban imports of Ukrainian grain may be indefinite, Polish Development and Technology Minister Waldemar Buda said.

The head of the ministry said that the European Commission (EC) should issue an order on Ukrainian agricultural products in the near future. However, if this does not happen, at midnight Warsaw will publish its own document with a ban on the import of the relevant grain to the territory of the Republic, Polska Agencja Prasowa news agency reports.

"It will be indefinite," Buda warned.

Ukraine’s neighbours, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania, agreed with the European Union to impose an embargo on grain produced from Kyiv from April until September 15 to prevent a knock-on effect on its farmers.

Only sealed goods are allowed to help Ukraine send its produce overseas as Russia blocks its usual export routes during the war.

On September 12, EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said he was trying to extend the embargo. Wojciechowski is Poland’s former agriculture minister.

Some leaders of Polish farm groups were to attend the EU Parliament debate, including Michal Kolodziejczak, an opposition candidate running in the October elections.