The Minister of Agricultural Policy of Ukraine addressed Polish farmers

The Minister of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine and the Minister of Agrarian Policy discussed the state of trade between the countries with the participation of agricultural associations.

Horizontal dialogue, when ministries talk to ministries, farmers talk to farmers, is very important for building strong mutually beneficial partnerships, said Minister of Agrarian Policy Vitalii Koval.

“I turned to Polish farmers for understanding, who work in the fields and know what it means to preserve the harvest. After all, when someone says that the cost of Ukrainian products is lower than European ones and this has a bad effect on competition, it is worth remembering that there is a war in Ukraine, our farmers work in unequal conditions and the export of their products is a matter of their survival, a matter of filling the budget of a warring country. It is our tractors that are blown up on mines and combine harvesters are killed by drones. It is our farms that are forced to milk cows without electricity, it is our enemy who has temporarily occupied 20% of our land. And at the same time, we respect trade rules and do not violate them,” the minister commented.

According to him, in the first 10 months of this year, Polish exports to Ukraine amounted to $5.6 billion. From Ukraine to Poland, $4.15 billion. At the same time, Ukraine exported agricultural products worth $1.2 billion to Poland, and Poland to Ukraine, $688 million.

“Poland is not just a close neighbor, but one of Ukraine’s largest trading partners. Our agricultural products contain a large part of Polish components. These are mineral fertilizers, plant protection products, and seeds. It is important for us that trade between our countries is continuous and that we receive mutual benefit. This is a point of synergy where we can jointly export our products to third markets and develop cooperation. So that “1+1” is more than two. So that we understand that we have historically strong ties that allow us to make the economies of the countries stronger,” Kowal emphasized.

The Ukrainian Minister called for further searching for common ground that is mutually beneficial for both countries.

Recall that earlier, Vitaliy Koval stated that Ukraine needs to open new markets and switch to deep processing.