The European Union announced Wednesday it would grant duty-free access to produce from the West Bank and the Gaza strip in a bid to support Palestinian state building.

The deal was announced during a visit by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who was in Brussels for a meeting with international donors.

"Facilitating Palestinian trade is a crucial element of the state building process which the EU is supporting both politically and financially," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement.

The EU said the agreement would be valid immediately and would apply for 10 years to "all agricultural products, processed agricultural products and fish and fishery products" except fruit and vegetables, which would be subject to a duty if their price was below a set level.