Polish Agrarian Ministry responds to farmers’ request to set a reference price for grain imports from Ukraine

In February, the Polish Association of Grain Producers asked the Ministry of Agriculture to set a reference price for grain imports from Ukraine. The Ministry of Agrarian Policy responded in a letter dated May 29 with its opinion on the matter, Farmer.pl reports.

The association proposed that an entity that imports agricultural products from Ukraine or another non-EU country to Poland at a price below the reference price and puts them into circulation on the domestic market should pay the difference between the purchase price and the reference price. The collected funds should be distributed back to the farmer as a support (subsidy) as a result of selling below cost, for example, for each ton produced/sold, after presenting the relevant invoice.

“Regarding the introduction of the reference price, we would like to inform you that the state administration, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, cannot regulate prices, as this contradicts, among other things, EU rules,” says the letter signed by Waldemar Guba, Director of the Department of Agricultural Markets and Rural Energy Transformation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland.

He adds that the European Commission may initiate proceedings against Poland if it takes further unilateral actions to restrict imports from Ukraine.

“Moreover, such actions may also provoke retaliatory actions (formal or informal) on the part of Ukraine in the form of restrictions on imports from Poland. They may concern goods that are important for our exports to Ukraine (for example, dairy products),” Guba said.

Tags: Ukraine, export, grain, prices, Poland, restrictions