Poland and 4 other countries will demand to restore duties on imports of Ukrainian grain
Farmers are upset that companies have been buying cheaper from Ukraine instead of buying from their own producers
Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria are demanding that the European Commission reintroduce duties on Ukrainian food products.
The countries signed a joint letter of appeal, Polish Radio reports.
Polish Minister of Agriculture Henryk Kowalczyk emphasized that Warsaw had made a similar appeal only to Brussels in February, and now it will repeat it in a broader format.
"There is a proposal arising from the discussion that not only wheat and corn, because this is the initial proposal, but also other grains and rapeseed should be added. This is what producers expect, so we will go in that direction when distributing this quota," Kovalchyk said.
The head of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy said that grain from Ukraine will be subject to more frequent inspection, sealing and border control. He added that without a positive result of the phytosanitary service inspection, transport from the east will not be able to enter the European Union.
Henryk Kowalczyk emphasized that the Polish authorities are working to increase export opportunities for Polish grain that remains in silos and elevators. We are talking about a grain surplus of 3-4 million tons, which was not sold by domestic entrepreneurs.
"Unfortunately, people make money during the war, so our companies also bought from Ukraine instead of buying from Polish producers. After all, it is legal. But the economic rules should encourage us to realize that cooperation with Polish farmers is important, not just a one-time gain, and in many cases it was," the minister added.
The European Commission also approved a national plan to help grain producers, with a budget of PLN 600 million.
The Council of Ministers is also to consider provisions allowing subsidies for grain transportation to Baltic ports.
Background. As reported, the EU will allocate EUR 30 million to Polish farmers to compensate for grain exports from Ukraine.
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