Failure to resume exports into eastern European countries or secure an extension of the Black Sea grain deal would trap large amounts of grain in Ukraine, hitting its exports and causing further economic problems for Kyiv as it battles Russian troops.

European Union member states Poland, Hungary and Slovakia had imposed import bans to protect their markets from an influx of cheaper supply following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Warsaw banned their transit through Poland at the weekend.

But Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus said a second day of talks in Warsaw had produced a breakthrough, with transit to be monitored and sealed. The deal will go into force at midnight on Friday, Development Minister Waldemar Buda said.

“We were forced to close the border because the EU had its eyes closed on large amounts of grain flowing into Poland, but at the same time we continued talks with Ukraine on how to enable transits, but with a guarantee grains would not be stuck in Poland, and we managed to find a solution,” Telus told a news conference in Warsaw.

Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko told the news conference she was confident Ukrainian exporters would respect the terms of the deal agreed with Poland.

It was not immediately clear how the other countries that have imposed import bans on Ukraine would react after the agreement in Warsaw, with Romania looking likely earlier on Tuesday to impose a similar ban.

Large quantities of Ukrainian grain have been trapped by bottlenecks in eastern and central Europe as low global prices and demand mean grain cannot easily be sold on.

The bottlenecks have reduced prices and hurt sales by local farmers, putting political pressure on governments in the region, particularly the Polish government before an election.

The EU has criticized member states for putting individual bans in place, and EU envoys are set to discuss the measures on Wednesday, a senior EU official said.

Bulgaria has also been considering a ban. The Czech Republic has said it will not impose a ban on its own but wants an EU solution.

Black Sea grain deal in doubt

Ukraine, which relies on grain and food sales for a significant slice of its gross domestic product, also has concerns about the Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered between Moscow and Kyiv by Turkey and the United Nations last July.

The initiative, intended to alleviate global food shortages by allowing exports to resume from three ports that had been blockaded in Ukraine, is set to expire on May 18.

It is unclear whether it will be extended because Russia says a separate deal meant to ease its own agricultural and fertilizer exports has not been upheld.

“It is under threat of being halted and Russia has again blocked the inspection of ships,” Svyrydenko told the news conference in Warsaw.

“It is extremely important for us to unblock transit, otherwise Ukraine will remain blocked. We cannot together with our partners give Russia the opportunity to take advantage of this situation,” she said.

Russian news agency RIA said on Tuesday the inspections had restarted but a senior Ukrainian official told Reuters: “Nothing has been resolved.”

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said there had been no ship inspections on Monday or Tuesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will discuss the Ukraine Black Sea grain export deal with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York next week, Russia’s U.N. envoy said on Tuesday.

— Reporting for Reuters by Pawel Florkiewicz and Anna Koper in Warsaw, Luiza Ilie in Bucharest, Krisztina Than in Budapest, Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv, Humeyra Pamuk in Tokyo and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; writing by Timothy Heritage.

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Speaking to Reuters in an interview, Henryk Kowalczyk accused Brussels of giving Poland, which shares a long land border with Ukraine, little assistance, including with factors like a lack of equipment such as mobile grain loaders or containers.

Poland is trying to move Ukrainian grain by rail, because Russia is blocking its ports on the Black Sea which were responsible for the export of over 90 percent of its cereals and oilseed at a rate of up to six million tonnes a month, prior to the Russian invasion.

But that is difficult because alternative land transport offers a fraction of the capacity that was available directly at Ukraine ports before the war. Border controls and the need to reload trains due to different rail gauge in Ukraine and the EU add to these problems.

Some 20 million tons of grain have to be moved out of the country which was invaded by Russia by the end of next month to make room for this year’s crops and avoid food shortages in Africa, the European Commission said last month, proposing a solidarity lanes initiative to speed up transit.”At this point the EU target is becoming not realistic. Had we started moving forward in mid-May, it would have been very difficult, but we could have been closer,” Kowalczyk said.

An EC spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

The EU executive proposed to create solidarity lanes to streamline and prioritize the passage of grains via Ukraine borders with the EU neighbors.

The plan included specific action points calling for pooling of rail cars and logistics equipment by member states to boost grain shipments.

Kowalczyk said that besides declarations, Poland received no tangible assistance from the bloc.

Warsaw declared it could move up to 1.5 million tons of grains per month but even this estimate was a challenge amid scarce storage capacity, lethargic cargo traffic, insufficient rail fleet and missing equipment to reload grain. “I keep appealing on and on, we need mobile grain loaders… They should be placed at the borders or at reloading points where wide gauge ends… Also containers, which allow for swift transshipment at the borders and in ports,” Kowalczyk said.

Mobile grain-loaders can load over 200 tons of grain per hour. Production of such equipment is scarce in the EU and temporary rental contracts should be explored, the EU said.

“We are waiting, but I know the European Commission is asking member states individually for declarations of help and it is moving slowly unfortunately,” he said.

In June, U.S. President Joe Biden said that temporary silos would be built along the borders with Ukraine, including in Poland, in a bid to help the export of more grain from the war-torn country and address a growing global food crisis.

Grain would be transferred from railway cars into silos and then on to European freight cars in a plan aimed at preventing Russia from stealing Ukrainian grain and making sure the country’s winter harvest is not lost due to a lack of storage. Kowalczyk said the Biden proposal was interesting but lacked details including a timetable. Poland would expect the U.S. to finance the plan, while Poland could select locations in proximity to wide gauge tracks, he said. One rail line from Ukraine extends by 400 km into southern Poland.

“It is too early to talk about a timetable for this plan at this stage. This was a political declaration, let’s be clear, and has to be followed by specific agreements; talks (with U.S. Department of Agriculture) are underway,” Kowalczyk said.

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