Citing the risks of local markets experiencing a “destabilization” caused by a flood of cheap food products, Poland has imposed a “temporary ban” on all agricultural and food products from neighboring Ukraine.
In a statement Saturday, the government announced that Poland’s agricultural and development ministers have been assigned to issue “relevant legal acts to protect the Polish agricultural market against destabilization – including a temporary ban on imports of agricultural and food products from Ukraine,”
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS), said he did not feel the decision would harm the ties between Poland and Ukraine, and noted that Ukraine had already taken measures to address the concerns of Poland.
Kaczynski said, “We are and remain unchanged friends and allies of Ukraine… But it is the duty of every state, every authority, good authority in any case, to protect the interests of its citizens.,”
Poland has long supported Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. However it, as well as other neighboring countries, has been distressed as Ukraine has flooded it with cheap grain and other products in recent months. The flood of products has crushed local prices, driving local producers out of business and creating logistical bottlenecks that have disrupted the shipping industry.
The problem began with Brussels seeking to aid Ukraine by permitting duty-free imports into the EU from Ukraine to help support its economy. Although the move was designed to help Ukraine deliver its products on to customers in the Middle East and Africa, instead most of the shipments have flooded into Eastern Europe.
Last month, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia demanded the reintroduction of tariffs by the EU Commission on Ukrainian agricultural imports. The countries had also demanded in April that the Brussels purchase back accumulated Ukrainian products on “humanitarian” grounds.
Slovakia moved on Friday to place a ban on the processing and sale of Ukrainian grain after detecting levels of a dangerous pesticide which was prohibited in the EU in a 1,500 ton shipment of the product. The ban will apply to all grain which originated in Ukraine, as well as any flour made with it which is presently in Slovakia.
