Poland creates constant problems for Ukrainian agribusiness through illegal bans on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine, which violates the EU legislation. Currently Poland is blocking border checkpoints, which impedes the passage of transport and leads to huge additional costs for Ukrainian farmers, including fruit and berry growers who are exporting apples, frozen berries and other fruits and vegetables. At the same time, Poland does not voice any demands explaining the blockage, and Ukrainian farmers, who are already suffering losses due to the Russian war, are losing even more money as a result.
In fact, by creating problems for Ukraine, Poland de-fact supports Russian aggressors, who are now trying with all their might to destroy Ukraine both physically and economically. At the same time, Polish farmers and traders themselves have no problem profiting from Russians by supplying fresh apples and pears to the aggressors. On one hand Polish farmers are feeding the Russian army with fresh fruit, and on the other, are not allowing Ukraine, which protects all of Europe from these invaders, to have the opportunity to sell its own products to be able continue defending itself and other European countries.
Ukrainian exporters say that Poland, even before the full-scale invasion, was an extremely difficult partner for both exports and transit of food and agricultural products. Always, when supplying products through Poland or to Poland, it was in this country that the created maximum barriers in the form of delaying procedures, unlawful requirements for the provision of unnecessary documents, and ordinary quibbles to create maximum problems and cause additional financial losses for the Ukrainian agrarians.
In our article about the success story of blueberry exports by the Ukrainian company Nikdaria LLC, the company’s director of strategy and development, Evgen Kharlan, drew attention to the enormous difficulties and recommended avoiding transit through Poland, even if we talking a much longer and more expensive route. “…I’ll say right away that it will be cheaper for all exporters to ship their products through other countries, even if the distance is greater. Polish customs do everything possible and impossible to stop the truck for the maximum amount of time, knowing we export a perishable product. Poland is afraid of competition from Ukraine in the EU market. For me personally, this attitude is recognition of our success and high level of competitiveness. And a frightened competitor is already half the victory,” says Evgen.
EastFruit experts, who often communicate with representatives of Polish agribusiness, note that in Poland there are indeed serious fears of competition from Ukraine. Polish producers read and hear how actively Ukraine is introducing modern digital technologies into all segments of agribusiness, they know about the high productivity and quality of Ukrainian products, at a very competitive level of production costs. However, instead of using this knowledge as an incentive to accelerate their own development, Polish businesses seek to protect themselves through trade barriers. And this, as practice shows, has never made anyone stronger and more effective – rather the opposite.
Ukrainian farmers have developed much faster than Polish ones in the last two decades precisely because while Polish farmers were enjoying huge subsidies from the European Union, Ukrainian farmers were forced to look for ways to reduce the cost of production, improve quality of their products and the efficiency of all supply chains. And the most powerful incentive for the development of Ukrainian agribusiness was Ukraine’s accession to the WTO in 2008, which led to a sharp reduction in import duties and opened the Ukrainian food market to foreign suppliers.
Therefore, Poland, trying to protect itself from Ukraine with additional barriers, is acting very short-sighted and making things worse for itself. Because barriers won’t protect Poland anyway. The agricultural market has long been global if they have not noticed. And if Poland made good money on the transit and re-exports of Ukrainian products, keeping the added value for itself, now this money will simply go to other countries. The efficiency of Poland’s agricultural production, which is increasingly lagging behind Ukraine, will certainly not increase from additional walls created.
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