Before the visit of Zelenskyy to Warsaw, Polish farmers warned that if their demands are not taken into account, they will block the movement of the Ukrainian President to the meeting place with the citizens of Poland and Ukraine. The problem was solved. However, the cost of such a meeting of Zelenskyy’s fans with their idol became known only a few days later.
What did the farmers want?
Since the beginning of the war, grain exports to Poland from Ukraine began on an unprecedented scale, as most of the sea sales channels were blocked. The difficult situation forced the Ukrainians to reduce significantly the grain prices in order to secure at least some income and not disappear from the market under the weight of the war.
This led to the dumping of grain prices in Poland, which caused violent discontent among Polish farmers. The Minister of Agriculture, Janusz Kowalski, tried to solve this problem somehow but was unsuccessful.
What is salvation?
For a long time, the Polish government hoped that help would come from the European Union in the form of grants or in some other form, but this did not happen. This forced Polish farmers to take a more radical position and threaten to block the path of the Ukrainian President.
The tactic turned out to be effective. The Minister of Agriculture was replaced by a new one – Robert Telus. With his participation and with the support of the Prime Minister of Poland, negotiations were held with Zelenskyy. The result was the decision to suspend the import of grain from Ukraine until July. During these months, it should be found an algorithm for dealing with Ukrainian grain, which will not harm either Ukraine or Poland.
The price of a meeting with Zelenskyy
The Polish put forward two main demands:
– Poland should become a transit country for Ukrainian grain, not a consumer country;
– a duty must be imposed on all products from Ukraine that cross the Polish border.
Such steps will be able to keep the agricultural sector of Poland from the crisis. On the other hand, such steps can simply “kill” farmers in Ukraine. The suspension of imports until July in exchange for not blocking the road on which Zelenskyy had to travel is a desperate measure that will definitely have negative consequences for Ukrainian agriculture.
The coming months will show whether the governments of the two neighboring countries will be able to maintain good neighborly relations while solving this problem.
