Polish farmers block highway near Poznan amid nationwide protests

Polish farmers block highway near Poznan amid nationwide protests

IN Poland, farmers took to the streets in protest against the European Union’s Green Deal and the flood of inexpensive agricultural imports from Ukraine.

There are over 500 separate demonstrations that occurred across the country, causing disruptions on major highways, including Poznan City, where a convoy of tractors was seen driving on a highway, causing traffic jams. Polish farmers are frustrated with the EU’s Green Deal and the surge of cheap agricultural imports from Ukraine.

Many agricultural vehicles were parked on the roadway, some flying Polish flags and displaying banners with slogans like ‘Green counter = hunger’ and ‘Nothing about us without us’.

These protests have been ongoing for months, reflecting widespread discontent with EU agricultural policies and imports from Ukraine.

 ‘’We need to tax this import of agricultural products from Ukraine, because it is bad. Very bad! Prices are very low and there is nowhere to sell our grain.’’

’In the past, when I sold grain, it was PLN 1,400 – 1,500, and now, when I was there, it was PLN 700. And there is no choice but to put it aside when the warehouses are full and the warehouses need to be prepared for the next harvest. As I say, it’s hard to sell anything now.’’

‘’It turns out that we need to look for another job. Simply that! We have to change industries maybe, I don’t know.’’

‘’I wouldn’t like to be here because I have a lot of work to do at home. We are not happy with this protest. Some drivers say that we drive good equipment, but it is all on loan, in leasing, and there is no way to pay it back.’’

‘’Someone is making a lot of money from this. And everything happens at our expense. If this food is so cheap, let it be cheap also in our stores. And we, as consumers, farmers and city citizens, pay more and more in stores. So something is simply wrong here!’’

‘’We become uncompetitive. Because there is food produced without any standards. On who knows what kind of products. And we can’t win against this!’’ Polish farmers said.

Tensions between Poland and Ukraine escalated this year as Polish farmers obstructed highways and checkpoint gates on the border and even deliberately spilt grain.

The EU responded to this by lifting the tariffs and quotas on goods from Kyiv following the outbreak of conflict with Russia, while many agricultural workers have claimed the influx is destroying their sector – and similar protests have been seen right across Europe.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has urged a return to trade rules in place before the conflict.

But recent talks between the government and farmers failed to reach an agreement. Other grievances include high production costs, tax increases, bureaucratic hurdles, rising fuel prices, and EU-wide environmental regulations.

Farmers have condemned the potential impact on their sector associated with the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) – under the Green Deal – which includes measures aimed at reducing carbon emissions, but the EU insists that the plans will be flexible.

 

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