Poland wants the European Commission (EC) to introduce regulations that will reduce or block imports of Ukrainian grain to Poland as the destination market, Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister has said.

Polish farmers have been protesting against what they call a flood of Ukrainian grain, which, they say, has depressed domestic grain prices.

„We didn’t agree and we don’t agree for the grain to end up on the Polish or Romanian markets and destabilise them,” Morawiecki said at a press conference on Wednesday. „A similar position was also expressed by the Romanian president and prime minister to whom I talked yesterday.”

Morawiecki said Poland wanted the EC to use „all necessary means, including quotas, protective duties and various regulations,” but went on to explain that Warsaw would not hinder Ukrainian grain transit to other countries.

In a letter to the European Commission, Poland has also asked for compensation for lost profits by Polish farmers.

„We’re receiving some money from the EU already, but for the time being it’s much too little, about PLN 200 million (EUR 43 million),” the prime minister said. „We have to pay an additional PLN 2 billion (EUR 430 million) from the state budget to make life easier for farmers.”

Earlier in the day, Morawiecki said that Poland plans to introduce its own regulations restricting the flow of Ukrainian grain into Poland.

Morawiecki has previously criticised the EU for apparently failing to deliver on its promise to send grain imported from Ukraine to Middle Eastern and African countries. Some of the grain exports remain in the countries neighbouring Ukraine, including Poland, and farmers have complained that they have problems selling their own produce due to full warehouses and decreasing prices. (PAP)

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