The Polish Minister of Agriculture has resigned

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Announcing his decision at a press conference, the minister recalled that last Wednesday he convened the agricultural round table, where farmers and representatives of food processing and export companies agreed, among others, that the government would limit the import of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products, speed up their exports to third countries transit and compensate Polish farmers. The agreements reached at the round table will be implemented gradually – underlined Kowalczyk.

In the case of Ukrainian grain exports, the Warsaw government also asked the European Commission to take action on the matter last Friday

However, according to the draft published by the European Commission, quota- and duty-free grain imports from Ukraine will be extended by one year from June, Kowalczyk said. “It is clear that one of the farmers’ basic requirements is not being met”, which is why he submitted his resignation, explained the minister. Despite the agreement reached at the agricultural round table, last Thursday in Szczecin, northern Poland, the farmers’ demonstration, which has continued ever since, began. Producers protesting in front of the headquarters of the Voivodeship office demand a complete stop to Ukrainian grain exports. According to them, in recent days, even more grain has flowed into the country than before. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called on the protesters to abide by last week’s agreement and give the government time to implement the measures. He underlined: grain warehouses in Poland are starting to empty, Ukrainian shipments are mostly passing through the country as transit. Kowalczyk was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in the fall of 2021. According to information from the PAP news agency, the politician will remain a member of the government as deputy prime minister. According to preliminary reports, the issue of Ukrainian grain exports will be one of the topics of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s talks in Warsaw on Wednesday.

MTI