WARSAW (Reuters) – The first trucks carrying Ukrainian food products including corn and eggs were bound to start transit via Poland to the Netherlands on Friday morning, a Polish customs official said, as rules allowing the shipments took effect overnight.
The rules brought an end to a ban that was introduced without notice on April 15 leaving many companies with goods stranded across the border in Ukraine.
“The first convoy of five escorted trucks carrying farm produce from Dorohusk border crossing is bound for the Netherlands,” Justyna Pasieczynska, spokeswoman for the National Revenue Administration told Reuters.Several central European countries affected by a glut of Ukrainian agricultural imports that have suppressed prices for local producers have introduced bans on imports from Ukraine this week.
Poland, the first country to act, went further by also banning the transit of such goods.
However, on Tuesday an agreement was reached with Ukraine to allow transit to resume using sealed containers that will travel in convoys.
Convoys will travel either to the Polish border or to ports to be loaded on to ships, customs officials said.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Marek Strzelecki; editing by Jason Neely)
