Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

EU should curb some food imports from Ukraine, says farm commissioner

EU should curb some food imports from Ukraine, says farm commissioner

Comments by Janusz Wojciechowski address concerns about market supply in his native Poland, and run counter to EU policy.

The EU needs to revise its free-trade agreement with Ukraine and introduce import restrictions on some food products, Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski told members of the Polish parliament Wednesday.

The comments from the Polish commissioner flatly contradicted the official EU stance that enabling unrestricted food exports from Ukraine is essential to helping the country’s war-ravaged economy. Since Russian forces invaded in February, they have occupied and mined tracts of farmland, stolen crops, and bombarded grain silos and ports.

Only limited exports of Ukrainian produce have been possible in recent months through its traditional Black Sea export route. Brussels opened an alternative land route to the EU when it launched so-called solidarity lanes in May and signed an agreement with Kyiv in June to suspend all import duties on Ukrainian goods for one year.

The agreement is due to expire next summer, but the Commission is mulling extending it until the end of 2024.

“[F]or some products, this policy will have to be revised,” Wojciechowski said. He was speaking remotely at an event in Warsaw organized by the Polish parliament’s upper chamber on the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.

While the western corridor is a lifeline for Ukraine’s economy and its farmers, it has exposed farmers in Wojciechowski’s home country to greater market competition. It’s a development that could result in political fallout for the country’s right-wing government, led by the Law and Justice party (PiS), which will need to defend the rural vote to retain power in a general election due by September 2023.


Farmers’ concerns


“I know the farmers’ concerns and I see the problem,” said Wojciechowski, himself a senior PiS figure. He was responding to a question on whether the Commission would address the issue of food imports from Ukraine that, instead of being exported elsewhere through the solidarity lanes, remain stuck in Poland’s border regions.

“Helping Ukraine is our strategic priority and this is beyond discussion. It is a matter of security, but for some products, this policy will have to be revised. Imports of some agricultural products have indeed increased several times after the opening of trade with Ukraine. There are simply too many goods coming in.”

Wojciechowski listed maize, rapeseed and poultry as examples of foodstuffs that have been “arriving in excessive quantities.” He said that Romania and Bulgaria have also seen a “problematic” increase in sunflower oil imports from Ukraine.

A Commission report on Ukrainian products subject to the free-trade agreement has found that the EU has seen a “significant increase in imports of … poultry, eggs, milk powder, butter, sugars, starches, bran and some cereals.” The EU executive has yet, however, to reach a position on whether to take any action to address the increased inflows.

Wojciechowski said that a decision on whether to introduce tariffs on food products “will depend on many commissioners … but my view is that there is a problem. Where these exports have clearly increased, I will speak in favor of introducing import restrictions.”

Agriculture plays a vital role in Ukraine’s economy, accounting for around a fifth of the country’s GDP and 40 percent of exports. Brussels recently announced a €1 billion investment to boost the land-based EU solidarity lanes through which Ukraine has been able to export around 17 million tons of foodstuffs since the start of the Russian invasion.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
×