Poland should maintain the embargo on Ukrainian agricultural products to support its own farmers. This was stated in an interview with Dziennik Gazeta Prawna by the new Polish Minister of Agriculture Czeslaw Sekerski, reports UNN.
Details
According to him, agriculture is a specific sector of the economy - it is continuous, so changes cannot happen quickly.
SEE ALSO: Poland is not going to lift the grain embargo until a common solution is found
Sekerski emphasized that Poland is part of the European Union and has a common agricultural policy, as well as a single common market with some competition.
I will do everything to maintain the current embargo. We need to develop joint market solutions between Ukraine and the EU. Polish agriculture will not be able to compete with Ukrainian agriculture, but it can benefit from the development of processing and trade intermediation. There were no concrete solutions behind the statements and promises. Therefore, Polish farmers found themselves in a very difficult economic situation
Addendum
The Polish minister emphasized that certain measures and decisions in agriculture should be continued, regardless of who was in power before, but at the same time some changes are needed.
He added that, unfortunately, those in power were not necessarily fully aware of the changing economic conditions for farming.
For reference
In May 2023, the European Commission banned imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania at the insistence of these countries. On June 5, the ban was extended until September 15, 2023.
SEE ALSO: Michel suggested that the EU buy grain from Ukraine and send it to the needy in the Middle East
Subsequently the European Commission announced that the EU would not extend the temporary restrictions on Ukrainian grain. After that , Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia announced their decision to block imports of Ukrainian agricultural products and stopped participating in the Coordination Platform, which was created under the auspices of the EC to resolve this issue.
To recap
In October, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solsky reportedthat Ukraine had exported almost 700 thousand tons of grain during the temporary sea corridor. Mostly to Europe and Africa.