European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, extended the temporary grain ban granted by the EU on Ukrainian grains.
Wojciechowski who is Polish, proposed a measure which is against the common policy of the European Union but is necessary in order to save the agriculture of not just his home country, Poland, but also Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria. Germany, France and Ukraine are opposed to a further extension.
Recently, the Polish right-wing party, Konfederacja, exposed the shady dealings of traders selling the Ukrainian agricultural surplus in Poland. The ones selling the grains were doing so at dumping level prices and would usually mix the grains of Ukrainian origin with those of Polish origin erasing all evidence and taking out of competition the Polish farmers. Most importantly, the majority of traders were virtually untraceable, with information leading back to people uninvolved in the agriculture sector.
Ukrainian officials have claimed before that their harvest is being sent to Africa, this having been the key justification for the Black Sea Grain Deal. This is not true. As Konfederacja has proven, in the search for money to keep the Ukrainian economy afloat, Kiev is ready to sacrifice its relations with Warsaw by taking advantage of the sympathy the Polish have regarding Ukraine's current geopolitical context and are using this to make a quick and easy profit.
Such practices are not reserved just for Poland. The reason Romania saw farmer's protests earlier this year,was the lack of action taken by the Romanian government which allowed for the dumping of Ukraine's agricultural surplus into the Romanian market nearly bankrupting Romanian agriculture.
Romania is also terrible at handling the surplus of goods coming from and going towards Ukraine on its railways and ports. The Port of Constanța is overcrowded and most of the space is occupied by Ukrainian goods, mainly agricultural products, yet the Romanian government at the behest of American officials, pledged to increase the amount and speed of these export-imports. With what money is unclear.
The Romanian government doesn't have the courage to go against what American foreign policy dictates, as such the only ones who dared to speak against American plans for the region were AUR, who base the majority of their support from the countryside and those working in agriculture. They were quick to support the initiatives taken by Romanian farmers and their protest actions.
Interzicerea temporară a vânzărilor de cereale ucrainene scutite de taxe vamale ar trebui prelungită până la finalul anului, a spus, joi, comisarul european pentru agricultură, Janusz Wojciechowski, declaraţie care contrazice politica Executivului...
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