Ukraine is ousting Russian, not Polish, agricultural products from EU market – minister

Ukraine intends to push Russian agricultural products out of the EU market. Ukrainian producers pose no threat to Polish farmers, says Minister for Community Development, Territories, and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov. 

The government official believes that Polish society has fallen victim to propaganda, fueled in part by certain Polish politicians who spread falsehoods about Ukrainian agricultural products and carriers to their citizens, Rubryka reports, citing Kubrakov's interview with RBC-Ukraine.

"They (certain politicians) play on this topic. And, unfortunately, they've gained support from part of Polish society. That's how propaganda works. People don't understand or don't know the details, and they think that we've simply destroyed their farmers, that our agricultural products have flooded all their markets, and now there's no room for them. That's not true," Kubrakov said.

According to the deputy prime minister, Poles import agricultural products from Russia without queues through Belarusian territory, as official statistics indicate. Meanwhile, the transit of Ukrainian exports through Polish territory has decreased threefold compared to 2022.

Kubrakov emphasized that the governments of Ukraine and Poland are not negotiating border closures because that would be "suicidal."

"We're talking about opening new additional checkpoints and unblocking existing ones," the official explained.

In related news, the Latvian Parliament temporarily banned the import of agricultural products from Russia and Belarus until July 2025. But even this step has changed little, say processors.

Latvia demands a ban on the import of Russian grain into the EU, as goods from Ukraine could replace all such products.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda stated yesterday that he supported proposals to ban the import of Russian grain. Lithuanian farmers, against the backdrop of a partial blockade of farmers at the Polish-Lithuanian border due to Ukrainian grain, say they are more concerned about the import of Russian grain.

Later, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk promised to address the Polish Sejm regarding sanctions against Russian and Belarusian agricultural products.