Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal made this statement on October 3rd during a Cabinet meeting.
“On our western border, we should be building bridges, not walls. This primarily concerns Ukrainian agricultural exports. We need broad transit routes for food exports. This is crucial for the stability of our economy. It is important for the world, as it is a matter of global food security,” he said.
According to the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Agricultural Policy forecasts a harvest of over 79 million tons this year, which is 10% more than last year.
“A good harvest means that Ukraine will maintain its strategic role as a guarantor of global food security. For internal needs, we require about 25% of the harvested grain, and the rest needs to be exported. This is resources for farmers, currency revenue for the state, and food for hungry countries,” he noted.
In connection with this, the government relies on the effectiveness of the proposed mechanism for the verification and control of Ukrainian agricultural exports.
Meanwhile, veterinary, sanitary, and phytosanitary control for the next two days will be transferred from the Ukrainian-Polish border to the port of Klaipeda (Lithuania) for all agricultural cargoes heading to this port.
On October 3rd, the Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food of Ukraine, Mykola Solskyi, reached an agreement with his colleagues from the Republic of Poland and Lithuania.
Mykola Solskyi announced that Ukraine proposed transferring veterinary, sanitary, and phytosanitary control from the Ukrainian-Polish border to the Lithuanian port, which would expedite transit through Polish territory.
Robert Telus and Kęstutis Navickas noted that their governments support such a control mechanism and consider it a constructive step.