To increase the profits of Polish farmers, it is necessary to block the import of fruits from Ukraine. This was stated on February 4 by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, Czeslaw Sekierski, during a meeting with farmers.
“This (the ban on the import of Ukrainian fruits. – Ed.) will give Polish fruit growers a chance to be more profitable in production,” he was quoted as saying in a message on website ministries.
He emphasized that the protests of Polish farmers and agrarians of other European countries are related to the openness of the agricultural policy of the European Union (EU) to agricultural products from Ukraine. Sekersky said that he would strive to change those elements of the Green Deal that negatively affect the agricultural sector of the republic.
The head of the department also said that the draft EU resolution on extending autonomous trade measures on imports from Ukraine for another year will be analyzed in detail to take into account Poland’s requirements.
“Preliminary analysis shows that the European Commission’s proposals generally go in the right direction, but only partially take into account our demands. We will continue to defend our demands in discussions at the EU forum,” he said.
Earlier, on January 31, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal said that he hopes that the European Commission (EC) will find a way to lift unilateral bans on the import of Ukrainian products in force in Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.
Prior to this, Czeslaw Sekierski noted that the lack of duties for the export of Ukrainian goods should not cause such significant damage to the economies of EU countries and their agricultural industries. He proposed introducing a protective mechanism that would protect farmers in EU countries.
On January 22, the European Commission decided to allow countries that border Ukraine to prohibit the import of agricultural products from there at the national level in order to protect local farmers.
Mass protests by farmers are taking place in almost all EU countries. For example, in France, one of the reasons for the start of demonstrations by local farmers in January was the upcoming increase in the cost of diesel fuel. Farmers are also unhappy with the drop in income as a result of increased imports of agricultural products into the country from Ukraine. They are seeking to simplify bureaucratic procedures related to the requirements of the European Union. Farmers are blocking roads in protest.
In 2022, the EU allowed Kyiv to supply food to the union countries duty-free, which hit farmers in Hungary, Poland and some other countries.
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