The issue of Ukrainian agricultural exports to Poland has, in recent years, been actively used by certain political forces to work with the electorate, but the accusations against Ukrainian farmers have no sufficient economic basis. At the same time, Polish politicians ignore the presence of Russian agricultural products on the EU market.

This opinion was expressed by the Ukrainian Agri Council Deputy Chairman Denys Marchuk:

"If we analyze the situation around Ukrainian agricultural exports to Poland, then about 80% of this discussion today consists of politics and emotions, and only 20% is the practical component that needs to be discussed. Today, the agricultural cluster is one of the most difficult in the context of Ukraine's European integration, since it is precisely here that we see the most reservations on the part of certain countries. This concerns not only Poland, but also Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria, where accusations against Ukrainian farmers are also voiced from time to time."

According to Denys Marchuk, the widespread claims that Ukrainian grain displaces Polish products thanks to low prices do not correspond to the real economic situation.

"The accusations that Ukrainian grain is too cheap and therefore competes with Polish grain have no sufficient economic basis. It is important for European farmers to understand that world prices for the grain group have been declining for a long time now. Yet for some reason Ukraine is always blamed for this. Under wartime conditions, the cost of Ukrainian production is extremely high, as is logistics. Transporting grain from central Ukraine to the Polish border is not cheap at all, and it will cost significantly more than products grown inside Poland. In such matters, one should rely on figures and the real economy," the Deputy Chairman explained.

He also drew attention to the fact that in the EU they often mention competition from Ukrainian products, but pay significantly less attention to the presence of Russian goods on the European market.

"When in Poland and other EU countries they talk about threats from Ukrainian agricultural products, for some reason the question of the presence of Russian products on the European market is almost never raised. In reality, Russian products continue to be present in Europe and compete with local producers. Moreover, the Russian agricultural sector is actively supported by the state, which allows Russian companies to offer products at more competitive prices. The Ukrainian agricultural sector does not have a similar level of state support," the Deputy Chairman emphasized.

Denys Marchuk also stressed that Ukraine is interested not in confrontation, but in the development of partnership relations with Poland and other EU countries. The parties should seek new opportunities for cooperation and for jointly entering promising world markets.