Due to protests by Polish farmers blocking the border with Ukraine for trucks, imports of goods by road transport in the country decreased by 14% in February, Deputy Minister of Economy and part-time Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka reported on March 9.
“Ukraine needs imports in the form of fuel, medicines, and cars. <…> Import volumes by road decreased by 14% over the month,” Kachka said on the Rada TV channel.
According to the deputy minister, the protests of Polish farmers dealt a “palpable blow” to Ukrainian imports, despite the fact that Kyiv managed to restore part of the supply through rail traffic.
Moreover, Kachka added, Ukraine faced a significant decline in exports due to the protests.
“We have huge losses in the market for goods that need to be delivered on time to the EU. These are primarily industrial goods, automotive products, furniture products and other goods,” he said.
On the same day, it was reported that 2.3 thousand trucks were in queues on the Ukrainian border with Poland due to the blockade of Polish farmers. Most of the trucks are parked at checkpoints (checkpoints) “Yagodin” and “Shegini”, where Polish farmers do not allow a single heavy vehicle into the country.
Earlier, on March 7, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Warsaw proposed that the European Union (EU) cancel trade preferences that were issued to Ukraine after the start of the special operation. According to him, it is necessary to protect the European and Polish markets and Polish producers.
At the same time, on March 6, European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski said that the European Commission (EC) next week will present new proposals for environmental regulation that will meet the demands of protesting Polish farmers.
On the same day, protesting farmers clashed with police in Warsaw. One of the protest participants tried to throw a burning “prop” over the barrier behind which law enforcement officers were standing. In addition, during the action, Polish farmers burned the EU flag. Several police officers were injured.
Farmer protests have been taking place in Poland since November 2023. They demand that the government introduce an embargo on the supply of agricultural products to Ukraine and the state withdraw from the EU Green Deal program, which concerns the achievement of carbon neutrality in the alliance countries by 2050.
In addition, Polish farmers systematically block roads in the country and entrances to checkpoints on the border with Ukraine. On March 1, they blocked local highway No. 15 and demanded a meeting with the country's Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
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