President happy with gov't ban on Ukrainian food says aide
The Polish president, Andrzej Duda, believes that the interests of Polish farmers come first and therefore accepts the government's decision to ban imports of Ukrainian food, a presidential aide has said
Marcin Przydacz was speaking to the state-owned broadcaster TVP1 on Monday just a day after the European Commission attacked the ban, saying it was unacceptable.
"The Polish farmer must be protected and the activities that the government is undertaking, the transit ban announcements, as well as subsidies and removing excess grain from the market should of course be met with and are being met with acceptance," Przydacz said.
The Polish government on Saturday authorised the agriculture and development ministers to implement a temporary ban on Ukrainian food amid protests by Polish farmers who are angry about depressed prices and problems in selling their grain and other produce due to competition from cheaper Ukrainian goods.
The ban is to be in force until June 30.
But on Sunday, the European Commission (EC) criticised the Polish ban and a similar one introduced by Hungary.
"In this context, it is important to underline that trade policy is of EU exclusive competence and, therefore, unilateral actions are not acceptable," EC spokesperson Arianna Podesta said.
"In such challenging times, it is crucial to coordinate and align all decisions within the EU," she added.
Przydacz said that Poland's openness to the transit of Ukrainian grain was "exploited against the interests of Polish farmers."
"We understand crises do appear," he went on to day. "But we can handle these crises and we'll handle the current one too. We'll discuss it with the Ukrainian side today.”
Announcing the ban on Saturday, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of Poland's ruling conservative party Law and Justice (PiS), also said the government will carry out a mass purchase of grain stored in silos and warehouses with subsidies that will raise its prices to at least PLN 1,400 (EUR 300) per tonne from today's prices of about PLN 900 (EUR 190) per tonne. (PAP)
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