By SUWAŁKI REGION (Poland). Aug 3 (Interfax-Ukraine/BNS) – Poland positively assesses Lithuania’s initiative to simplify the export of Ukrainian grain from the Baltic countries’ ports on the condition that such grain shipments are inspected at the ports themselves rather than on the Polish-Ukrainian border, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said.
“The Polish prime minister’s reaction [to this proposal] was very positive,” the BNS news agency quoted Nausėda as saying during a visit to the Suwałki region.
“It has made me optimistic, and I think that our ministries should cooperate closely with the Polish authorities now to continue this conversation and to try to adopt these changes as soon as possible,” he said.
Lithuania has proposed exporting Ukrainian grain via the Baltic region’s ports, including the Port of Klaipėda. The ports of the Baltic countries can handle 25 million tonnes of grain a year, it said. In addition, conducting inspections at the ports themselves rather than on the Polish-Ukrainian border will make exporting easier.
“We should do everything we can to make alternative grain deliveries via Poland to the ports of the Baltic countries as easy and effective as possible,” Nausėda said.
Ukraine’s Black Sea ports had served as the main route for the export of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products for many years. However, the ports’ operations have been seriously limited since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian exports have largely been redirected to European countries.
