Poland started talking about restricting exports of agricultural products from Russia only on the 3rd year of the war

Polish Prime Minister D. Tusk announced a possible ban on imports of agricultural products from Russia and Belarus, which leads to market distortions. Latvia has already banned grain imports from Russia and is demanding that the EU impose similar sanctions. Poland may also impose an embargo on supplies from Russia.

The Ukrainian government has long explained that the reason for the collapse in world grain prices was excessive supplies from Russia, including 5 million tons of grain stolen from the occupied territories of Ukraine.

Polish farmers continue to block the transit and supply of products from Ukraine, protesting against EU environmental standards and unfair competition from Ukraine, in their opinion.

The change in Tusk’s rhetoric may have been prompted by the detention of Ukrainian journalist Mykhailo Tkach near the Polish-Belarusian border while his team was filming a story about Poland’s trade with Russia and Belarus.

According to Ekonomichna Pravda, in 2023, Poland imported $2.6 billion worth of goods from Russia and $450 million from Belarus. Imports of agricultural products from Russia reached $117 million and exceeded the pre-war figure of 2021. Imports of grains and oilseeds doubled, oil remained unchanged, meals and other processed products decreased from $25 million in 2021 to $1 million in 2023. Imports of agricultural products from Belarus have also been growing for 2 years, and in 2023 reached $55 million.

It is worth noting that imports of goods from Russia and Belarus to Poland are much lower than from Ukraine. In 2023, Ukraine exported $1.3 billion worth of agricultural products to Poland. At the same time, Poland does not buy any agricultural products from Russia.

In September 2023, Poland banned imports of rapeseed meal from Ukraine, but increased its purchases from Belarus in October-December to $7.7 million.

Following the damage to railcars carrying Ukrainian grain in transit through Poland to Germany, the German Minister of Agriculture agreed to meet with his Polish counterpart on March 1 to discuss grain exports from Ukraine to the EU.

He recalled that the European Commission plans to extend “certain customs measures” for Ukrainian agricultural products until June 5, 2025, which will “stabilize the economic situation in the EU.” At the same time, the minister noted that “unilateral measures have nothing to do with either assistance and solidarity with Ukraine or ensuring food security.”

The EC believes that continued liberal trade with Ukraine will help stabilize the country’s economy. This is in line with one of the goals of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, which will facilitate gradual integration into the EU economy.

The German Foreign Ministry has stated that Poland is one of Ukraine’s largest political lobbyists, so the blockade of the Ukrainian-Polish border should be lifted as soon as possible so that the necessary products can be freely supplied from Ukraine to Poland and then to the EU and other countries.

Tags: Russia, grain, prices, Poland, restrictions, war