Poland will agitate other EU states to ban imports of Ukrainian grain by the end of the year

Poland will not allow grain imports from Ukraine after September 15, as the interest of Polish farmers is more important to the government than any EU rules in this regard.

“We know what could happen if grain (from Ukraine – ed.) got to Poland after September 15. Especially since the price of grain is currently low and the granaries are already full. We know that this is in our interest and we will defend it. That is why I am going to Spain with this message to the summit of agriculture ministers,” said Robert Telusz, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, during his speech at the National Agricultural Exhibition.

Telusz informed that on September 4, he will visit Spain, where he and representatives of other frontline countries – Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Romania – will convince the European Union to extend the ban on grain imports from Ukraine to the EU until the end of 2023 after September 15.

“When the war in Ukraine started, Polish society, including farmers, became the saviors of the Ukrainian cause. […] Polish society became a lifesaver. Today in Brussels, we are loudly declaring: a dead rescuer is a bad rescuer. We will not allow the Polish farmer to lose because of arbitrary decisions of officials from Brussels,” said Deputy Minister of Agriculture Krzysztof Ciezora.

According to Janusz Kowalski, the State Secretary of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture, the Polish government has supported Polish farmers to the tune of 3.18 billion euros, while the amount of financial support from the European Commission is only 63.61 million euros.

Warsaw has repeatedly stated that it will impose a unilateral ban if the EU restrictions are not extended, and hopes to find allies in this matter.

At the same time, Ukraine is firm in its demands that the EU should lift unilateral restrictions on Ukrainian exports and believes that Brussels should reach an agreement with Poland.

Tags: Ukraine, grain, EU, Poland, restrictions