Poland says has reached agreement on transit of Ukrainian grain

FILE PHOTO: A worker loads a truck with grain at a terminal during barley harvesting in Odesa region, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, Ukraine June 23, 2022. REUTERS/Igor Tkachenko/File Photo

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland has reached an agreement on restarting transit of Ukrainian grains through its territory as of Friday, Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus said on Tuesday, adding transits would be monitored and sealed.

Poland's Development Minister Waldemar Buda added a ban on imports of Ukrainian food products to Poland would remain in place.

Pressure has been mounting on Brussels to work out a European Union-wide solution after Warsaw and Budapest announced bans on some imports from Ukraine at the weekend, with other countries in eastern Europe saying they are also considering action.

Farmers say cheap imports from Ukraine, which has faced difficulties exporting by sea due to Russia's invasion, have lowered prices and reduced their sales.

In Poland, the issue has created a problem in an election year for the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party that relies on rural areas for much of its support.

Ukraine had said its priority was to reopen transit through Poland.

"We managed to create such mechanisms that will ensure that not a single ton of grain will remain in Poland," Telus told journalists after two days of talks in Warsaw.

(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Marek Strzelecki and Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Mark Potter)