Poland has banned imports of grains and some other food products from Ukraine to protect its market, the country’s ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said on Saturday.
(Bloomberg) — Poland has banned imports of grains and some other food products from Ukraine to protect its market, the country’s ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said on Saturday.
Th nation “will keep on supporting Ukraine,” Kaczynski said at a rally in Lyse. “However, we have a duty to protect our citizens, farmers and avoid a crisis of our agriculture.”
Earlier this month, the nation’s agriculture minister resigned following a widespread farmers’ protest over grain imports from neighboring Ukraine. Farmers are an important constituency for the ruling Law and Justice party, which is facing a tight election in the fall.
Poland and other neighboring states had agreed to help get grain out of Ukraine and on to global markets after the Russian invasion blocked exports last year. Part of that supply is now piling up in eastern Europe, and it’s threatening local livelihoods.
The government will conduct a purchase of grains from local farmers and provide additional subsidies for producers, while maintaining benefits for buying fertilizer, Kaczynski said.
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