Ukraine Seeks to Resolve Grain Dispute With Poland Amid Mass Protests of Local Farmers

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukraine expects to resolve grain disputes with Poland by the end of March, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Economy Taras Kachka has said.

At the same time, Ukrainian First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotskyi said that next week, the European Parliament is expected to consider the extension of the free trade agreement with Ukraine, which is due to expire on June 5, 2024.

Polish farmers began a month-long nationwide protest on February 9. They are blocking roads and access to checkpoints at the border with Ukraine. The protesters are demanding that the duty-free import of agricultural products from Ukraine be stopped and EU climate policies eased. Such protests have spread across several EU member states, including France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Romania and the Netherlands.

Polish-Ukrainian relations deteriorated significantly last year due to the influx of Ukrainian grain into the EU. Poland, along with Slovakia and Hungary, unilaterally extended a ban on duty-free Ukrainian grain imports after EU-imposed curbs lapsed on September 15, 2023. In response, Ukraine filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization. The three EU countries promised to boycott meetings of the coordination platform on Ukrainian grain.