By KYIV. Nov 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Poland can and should increase the export of foodstuffs from Ukraine to third countries by land, because due to the unstable behavior of the Russian authorities, it is hard to count on the resumption of permanent exports of foodstuffs from Ukrainian seaports through the grain corridor within the framework of the Istanbul Grain Imitative.
As EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski said in an interview with the Polish publication RMF FM, "Russia can still play the game, so a secure future of grain exports cannot be built on this."
The Commissioner also said that the so-called "Solidarity Lanes," the EU’s plan to help Ukraine export foodstuffs bypassing the Black Sea seaports through the land routes of Poland and Romania, have shown their effectiveness. According to the official, since March, 20 million tonnes of grain have been delivered from Ukraine to foreign markets, most of which (12.5 million tonnes) by land, and 7.5 million by sea within the grain corridor.
Wojciechowski said that the volume of overland food exports from Ukraine could be increased, and the role of Poland in its transportation should increase. To do this, the EU should invest in appropriate road transport, as well as carry out the necessary adaptation of the gauge of Ukrainian and Polish railways, or build granaries at border crossings between countries. In addition, the EU could start building a pipeline to transport sunflower oil from Ukraine. According to the commissioner, this initiative of Kyiv can find financial support from the EU.
The publication recalled that the Russian Federation after the invasion of Ukraine blocked its logistics infrastructure in the Black Sea, which stopped the export of Ukrainian foodstuffs. This was especially worrying for the countries of North Africa and the Middle East, which bought corn and wheat in Ukraine. An agreement on the resumption of exports of foodstuffs was reached in June with the participation of Türkiye and the UN, and will be valid until the second half of November.
