Poland to uphold ban on imports of some Ukrainian food products

WARSAW (Reuters) -Poland will keep a ban on imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds from Ukraine despite changes in European Union rules on trade, the Polish agriculture ministry said on Wednesday.

The EU temporarily waived duties and quotas on Ukrainian farm products in June 2022 in the wake of Russia's invasion to help Ukraine compensate for the higher costs to export its goods via the EU, after Russia threatened its traditional Black Sea shipping lanes.

European farmers held protests over low incomes, rising costs and competition from cheap imports, particularly from Ukraine and South American Mercosur bloc countries, demanding fairer trade terms and lighter regulation.

The principles of trade will revert to those under the association agreement between the EU and Kyiv, with duty-free imports of sensitive goods such as sugar, poultry, and eggs being limited by tariff quotas.

"The new quotas... apply to imports of goods to the entire EU, while in Poland there is still an indefinite ban on imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds from Ukraine, as well as certain processed products," the ministry said in a statement.

(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Sharon Singleton)