Polish authorities seek to maintain support for farmers after problems due to Ukrainian grain imports – Kommersant

Poland’s ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) is trying to keep farmers’ votes ahead of the fall parliamentary elections. The confidence of the agricultural sector in the authorities was shaken due to problems caused by the abolition of tariffs on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products into the EU, reports Financial Times.

The publication recalls that after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, the EU canceled tariffs on the import of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products in order to ensure the delivery of food to world markets. In the spring, Warsaw unilaterally banned the import of some Ukrainian food products after protests by local farmers who suffered heavy losses due to a glut of the market.

In late April, Poland lifted the ban after reaching an agreement with Brussels. The EU leadership allowed the import of Ukrainian grain only on the condition that it is guaranteed to be redirected to African countries or to other destinations.

The EU also offered Polish farmers about €100 million in compensation and agreed to Poland’s demand for additional research on the impact of Ukrainian agricultural products on the market environment.

As the newspaper notes, farmers are traditionally the backbone of the electorate of the conservative Law and Justice party, but they are increasingly critical of the authorities after cheap Ukrainian grain flooded the local market. At the same time, PiS, according to the latest opinion polls, is still supported by the majority of rural residents, reports the Financial Times.

The FT notes that the main rival of PiS in the farming environment may be the right-wing Confederation party, which advocates traditional family values ​​and liberalism in the economy. In addition, Agrounia, an association that organized farmers’ protests and recently registered as a political party, will compete for the support of the rural electorate, according to the FT.

On May 2, the European Commission banned the export of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine to the border countries of Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. All five states, in turn, pledged to lift similar bans that they had previously introduced on their own. Deliveries were limited due to the fact that the import of Ukrainian grain harmed the economy of local farmers, authorities claimed.

Erdni Kagaltynov