Robert Telus made the announcement to the media at Poland's border with Ukraine following talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Solskyi, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
The two held a news conference at the Polish-Ukrainian border crossing of Dorohusk on Friday afternoon.
Telus told reporters: “We agreed to limit and for now halt exports to Poland.”
He added: “Transit will be allowed but will be closely monitored in both countries, so that Ukraine grain doesn’t stay in Poland.”
The halt is designed to free up Poland’s warehouses ahead of this year’s harvest, according to Telus.
The announcement came a day after Telus took over Poland’s agriculture brief, state news agency PAP reported.
He replaced Henryk Kowalczyk, who resigned amid farmers’ protests over slumping prices of produce, according to PAP.
Poland grapples with influx of Ukrainian grain
Poland has admitted some 2.8 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain since Ukraine's Black Sea ports were blocked following Russia's invasion in February last year, the IAR news agency has reported.
Large quantities of Ukrainian grains, which are cheaper than those produced in the European Union, have ended up staying in Central European states, due to logistical bottlenecks, hitting prices and sales for local farmers, according to a report by the Reuters news agency.
At the end of last week, Poland and four other EU countries sent a joint letter to the European Commission, demanding restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports, according to officials.
The move was initiated by Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who had previously criticised the EU executive for failing to deliver on its promise to send grain imported from Ukraine to Middle Eastern and African countries, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Friday is day 408 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters