Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture, Henryk Kowalczyk, after a meeting in Warsaw with the US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Minister of Agricultural Policy and Ukrainian food Mykoła Solski and EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said that communication routes for Ukrainian grain as an alternative to the blocked ports of the Azov and the Black Sea, lead through Poland and its seaports.

“The meeting of the ministers of agriculture of Poland, Ukraine, the USA and the EU Commissioner for Agriculture is an unprecedented event for world food security”, said Deputy Prime Minister Kowalczyk.

The head of the Ministry of Agriculture assured that Polish seaports of fundamental importance for the national economy (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Szczecin and Świnoujście) are fully prepared to handle Ukrainian cargo. They are universal in nature and can handle virtually all types of loads. At the same time, Polish seaports are interested in cooperation with Ukrainian partners both in grain exports and fuel imports, as well as in trading any other products. “We remain open to cooperation and we will comprehensively support the Ukrainian side in this difficult situation”, added Henryk Kowalczyk.

The US secretary of agriculture, Tom Vilsack pointed out that there are many countries in the world that depend on Ukrainian supplies. It is needed to find effective solutions to this problem. In his opinion, the international community must contribute to counteracting speculation in agricultural markets.

The Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykoła Solskyi thanked partners for the help and support provided by Poland, the United States and the European Union in these difficult times.

“What we need the most is the possibility of exporting agricultural, grain and other products”, stressed the Ukrainian minister. At the same time, he added that Poland is one of the key partners in terms of export opportunities, especially to the European Union.

Adrian Andrzejewski