On February 2, Polish farmers held a protest against Ukrainian grain supplies to the country. Tygodnik Zamojski writes that protesters blocked roads at the border crossings on the Polish-Ukrainian border to prevent trucks carrying grain from entering the republic.
“The reason for the protest is the uncontrolled flow of grain from Ukraine. It is not the quantity, but first of all, the quality is controlled,” he said.
The show was organized by the “Deceived Village” association. In the morning, representatives of the organization closed the roads in Okopy, Korchova, Lyubycha-Krulevskaya, Medyka and other regions using tractors.
While farmers do not interfere with the movement of cars, they plan to maintain the blockade until midnight on February 3.
“The government has promised to ship grain to starving countries in Africa and the Middle East by arranging a transit corridor through Poland to ports and third countries,” the protesters said. At the same time, according to them, it is not clear where the Ukrainian grain ends up.
According to Tygodnik Zamojski, the protesters brought posters that read: “Polish products are healthy, technical grain is a symbol of the lies and perversion of those in power.”
The situation in agricultural products
According to the Polish Peasants’ Party, there are 2.5 million tons of unsold grain from local producers in Poland’s warehouses. This is due to the influence of increased exports of Ukrainian grain to European countries. According to Polish farmers, Ukraine pays for the supply of grain, fuel and weapons.
Polish Minister of Agriculture, Henryk Kowalczyk, said that the country’s authorities have a choice: either accept grain imports or do not help Kiev.
“This was the decision of the entire European Union. The Polish government joined him,” he said.
Simplified Import Procedure
Eastern European countries actively support Ukrainian food companies, including in the framework of the program “paths of solidarity”. It allows Ukrainian manufacturers to import products to third countries through the territory of Eastern European countries in a simplified manner.
“One of the results of the measures taken to facilitate the import of products from Ukraine … was a significant increase in the supply of Ukrainian products to the EU markets, especially at the border with Ukraine,” the Polish delegation said at a meeting. At the Council of Europe on 30 January of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council.
According to the delegates, imports of Ukrainian products have increased many times, causing a market abnormality that has led to a fall in demand for goods from Eastern European farmers.
Polish apple producers found themselves in a particularly difficult position as they had difficulty competing with Ukrainian products and embargoed products from Russia and Belarus. At the same time, the cost of production increased significantly due to the consequences of the energy crisis.
Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission, referred to statistics showing that Ukraine supplies 2.1 million tons of grain to Poland, 54 times more than a year ago. Rapeseed imports increased eightfold, and seeds and oils tripled.
According to the European Commissioner, the flow of Ukrainian agricultural products to European markets is not a problem for the entire EU, but a “local, regional problem for neighboring countries”.
“On the one hand, this is the success of the Solidarity Corridors initiative, on the other hand, we need to solve the problem of farmers who are now having trouble selling their crops. This problem exists in Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland and Slovakia.
The way out of the crisis
As a solution to the problem, Poland, speaking on behalf of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, called for regulation of imports due to increased supply from Ukraine. According to these countries, the rapid increase in the import of Ukrainian products does not meet the interests of agricultural producers in EU countries.
The Polish delegation urged the European Union to compensate the farmers for the damage caused by the events in Ukraine and to review the EU agricultural policy.
Delegates, to resolve the crisis, focus “solidarity paths” only on transitional purposes and prevent Ukrainian grain from entering EU countries. It is proposed to find new ways to support Ukrainian producers so that aid does not interfere with the activities of farmers from Eastern Europe.
In 2022, the European Union allowed Ukraine to supply duty-free agricultural products to EU countries. At the end of January, Polish Deputy Minister of Agriculture Janusz Kowalski said that Warsaw plans to ask for the reintroduction of customs duties on Ukrainian corn and other foodstuffs.
Source: Gazeta
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