Despite a significant reduction in the transport of Ukrainian grain through Poland, the protests of Polish farmers will not end quickly, Mirosław Maliszewski (PSL-TD), the head of the parliamentary committee on agriculture and rural development, announced in Vilnius on Friday.
Maliszewski, as well as Deputy Minister of Agriculture Stefan Krajewski and representatives of Polish agricultural organizations are participating in Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian consultations on the import of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine to the European Union.
– It looks like the protests will not end anytime soon, Maliszewski said during the meeting, quoted by the BNS agency. He emphasized that the situation in Poland has deteriorated significantly with the inflow of cheap agricultural products from Ukraine, and the competition for cereals, rapeseed, sugar, sunflower, apple juice and frozen raspberries is particularly fierce.
Krajewski pointed out that Polish farmers are protesting because the inflow of products from Ukraine worsens their situation. – They have to earn a living from their products, repay loans, feed their families and pay high energy prices – emphasized the deputy minister. – Farmers’ demands are a challenge for us – he admitted.
Grzegorz Majewski from the Polish Association of Cereal Producers argued that some Polish farms are on the verge of bankruptcy and that is why “we need to talk to find a compromise.”
No bombs are falling on us, but our farms may go bankrupt. It may seem that we are too strict, but we see no other option. We are worried about keeping our farms afloat, he noted.
Transport via Poland is not profitable for Ukraine
The head of the All-Ukrainian Agricultural Council, Andriy Dykun, recalled that Ukraine also exports grain by sea. – It is not profitable for us to transit through Poland – he said. He pointed out that “currently, only grain purchased under old contracts is transported across the Polish border.”
According to representatives of the Ukrainian delegation, the burden on the Ukrainian-Polish border has already decreased significantly because agricultural products are sent elsewhere, therefore “the Polish border should not be blocked.”
Earlier, Maliszewski pointed out that the consultations taking place in Vilnius were taking place “at the parliamentary level.” – No decisions will be made today, it will be just talks and convincing the individual parties to specific solutions – he emphasized.
