Poland will not lift the ban on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products

Poland currently does not see the possibility of lifting the unilateral ban on the import of certain types of Ukrainian agricultural products, as Warsaw believes this could harm the Polish agricultural market and local producers. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Poland, Adam Nowak, in Brussels on Monday.

“We do not see the possibility of lifting these decisions, that is, the unilateral ban that we have introduced, as this would be unfavorable for the Polish agricultural market, Polish farmers and, most importantly, in our opinion, also for consumers,” Nowak said.

He stressed that Ukraine has received liberalized access to the EU market without the need to fulfill some of the requirements and standards that Polish farmers must comply with.

The Deputy Minister reported that during the recent visit to Poland of the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christoph Hansen, the Polish side clearly conveyed its position on the need to maintain the existing market protection mechanisms.

“We have clearly signaled that we do not see the possibility of abolishing this mechanism, since such trade liberalization is disadvantageous for Poland. This is the only way to stabilize the Polish agricultural market,” Nowak emphasized.

Poland, together with several other EU countries, introduced unilateral restrictions on the import of certain types of Ukrainian agricultural products in 2023, arguing that it was necessary to protect its own farmers from destabilization of the domestic market.

Tags: Ukraine, export, Poland, agricultural products, imports, restrictions