March 5, 2024

 

Poland's farmers protest at border with Lithuania over alleged entry of Ukrainian grain through latter

 

 

At Poland's border with Lithuania, Polish farmers on March 1 voiced their displeasure over what's being alleged that imports of Ukrainian grain enter Poland through Lithuania.

 

Lithuania has denied the allegation.

 

Small groups waving Polish flags and carrying banners joined customs officials checking trucks coming over the frontier at the Budzisko crossing, but made no attempt to block the route.

 

Farmers across Europe have been protesting for weeks against constraints placed on them by EU regulations meant to tackle climate change, as well as rising costs and what they say is unfair competition from outside the European Union, particularly Ukraine.

 

The EU has waived quotas and duties on imports from Ukraine after Russia's invasion in 2022, angering farmers from neighbouring Poland, Hungary and Slovakia who said the action undercuts their prices.

 

Polish farmers argue that some Ukrainian grain which is brought to Lithuania is later reexported to other countries as European grain.

 

"(The) protest is taking place to draw attention to this uncontrolled inflow of grain into the European market, grain coming from Ukraine, from Russia," protest organiser Karol Pieczynski told Reuters. "It arrives in Lithuania, Latvia, documents are changed and those products are then distributed throughout Europe as a European product, which says it meets all standards, but it meets no sanitary standards."

 

"I think people that are organising such events are mistaken, and this leads us into some escalation and some problems, logistical problems, between European countries, so it's quite sad," said Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Centre.

 

It wouldn't make commercial sense to bring Ukrainian grain to Lithuania and then reexport it to other countries, he added.

 

- Reuters