Polish farmers’ real risk: Structural weakness, not Ukrainian competition

Polish farmers have little chance of competing with Ukraine in grain production. That is the assessment currently outlined by Gazeta Wyborcza, which suggests that Polish agriculture must think ahead if it wants to stay competitive and avoid falling behind its eastern neighbor.

In an interview with Professor Sławomir Kalinowski, Wyborcza notes that Poland is effectively unable to compete with Ukraine in grain production due to the sheer scale of Ukrainian farmland and the significantly lower cost of production.

According to the expert, the main risk for Polish farmers is not “cheap Ukrainian products,” but rather the structural lag and fragmentation of Poland’s agriculture sector — factors that weaken farmers’ bargaining power in negotiations with large retail chains.

Kalinowski stresses that Polish farmers must urgently unite into producer groups, cooperatives and marketing organizations to improve their access to markets. He argues that Poles are looking for the root of their problems in the wrong place. Focusing solely on protectionist barriers against Ukraine is a strategic mistake, he says.

Instead, Poland should prioritize improving product quality, food safety standards and added value. The long-term path to competitiveness, according to Kalinowski, lies in developing niche and premium products rather than trying to compete with Ukraine in bulk commodity production.

Tags: grain, Poland, margin, Ukraine