Poland Halts Low Cost Wheat Imports from Ukraine after Polish Farmers' Protest

With the recent decision by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki's cabinet, the Polish-Ukrainian grain deal will only enable Ukrainian grain to transit via Poland to third countries until July.

Janusz Kowalski, Poland's Deputy Minister of Agriculture, described the judgement and its implications. The decision was made as a result of low-cost Ukrainian wheat flooding the EU market since the start of the conflict with Russia, to the point where Polish farmers have protested what they regard as a threat to their home market.

The disagreement was apparently settled during President Volodymyr Zelensky's April 5 visit to Poland, during which he spoke with senior Polish authorities.

Zelensky backed the imposition of taxes on all agricultural products from Ukraine, calling it a crucial battle between the European Commission and Poland to defend Polish agriculture.

Poland and four other Central European countries requested various measures to limit market "distortions" caused by the influx of Ukrainian imports in a letter sent to the European Commission at the end of March, stating that if these measures were unsuccessful, tariffs and tariff-rate quotas should be reinstated.

As previously stated, the European Commission voted last week to extend duty-free imports of Ukrainian wheat until June 2024, forcing Polish Agriculture Minister Kowalczyk to resign. "Since it is clear that the European Commission will not fulfil the fundamental postulate of farmers, I have made a decision and resigned as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development," Kowalczyk stated in his resignation statement.