At the headquarters of the National Agricultural Support Center (KOWR), Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Henryk Kowalczyk, talked with representatives of the industry and state institutions.
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The meeting was attended by, apart from Deputy Prime Minister Henryk Kowalczyk, representatives of the management of KOWR, the grain and oilseed industry - production, trade and processing, as well as market analysts and representatives of state institutions.
The presence of so many experts representing various groups and points of view made the discussion very rich in substantive knowledge.
As Deputy Prime Minister Henryk Kowalczyk emphasized, the purpose of the meeting was to exchange information, data and views, thanks to which it was possible to diagnose the present situation on the grain market, and above all - to jointly determine the position on today's problems of Polish farmers.
The deputy director of KOWR, Marcin Wroński, presented the supply and demand situation on the market of cereals and oilseeds. He drew attention to the grain harvest forecasts on the world and EU markets. He emphasized that the increase in the area of ​​corn, winter wheat and rape cultivation in Poland proves that farmers are more interested in these crops.
He paid particular attention to the share of exports in domestic cereal production, which this year already accounts for 20 percent. Director Wroński emphasized that Poland is self-sufficient in the production of cereals at the level of nearly 140 percent. He said that it exports far more grain than it imports. Referring to the oilseeds market, he noted that rapeseed harvest forecasts were optimistic and estimated at approx. 3.2 million tonnes.
"We know the situation is difficult. The influx of grains from Ukraine causes anxiety among farmers about the destabilization of the market. Information chaos and the dissemination of false information about millions of tons of grain coming to Poland from beyond the Ukrainian border are also a big problem," said Deputy Prime Minister Kowalczyk.
As experts emphasized, the grain that comes to us from Ukraine is mostly corn. The data of the National Tax Administration show that from January to July 3 this year, 684,000 were imported to Poland. tons of cereals from Ukraine compared to 1.3 thousand. tonnes in the same period of the previous year.
The vast majority of these imports were maize.
The participants of the meeting emphasized large regional price discrepancies - farmers from the south-eastern regions receive much lower prices than those from the north of the country. They have a problem selling their grain, so they often turn to loans to keep their financial liquidity.
Currently, there are large stocks of cereals in Poland. Many farmers decided not to sell them because of various, often contradictory reasons related to the present situation caused by the war beyond the eastern border.
"We are entering the new harvest season with significant stocks of cereals," said Deputy Prime Minister Kowalczyk.
In addition to these stocks, there is also corn flowing to Poland from Ukraine. In order to be able to transport it further, numerous logistical obstacles must be resolved, and to resolve them, the involvement of other European countries is needed.
"The problem of grain exports from Ukraine is a problem not only of our country, it is a global problem," said Deputy Prime Minister Kowalczyk.
Forecasts show that due to the drought and heat, this year's grain harvest will be lower. The accumulated stocks will be able to compensate for the drop in yields.
"It is forecasted that there will be a greater demand for grain in the second half of the year," - said the head of the Ministry of Agriculture.
"The data from the market analyzes reflect the real situation - in fact, Poland does not have the transshipment capacity to transport larger quantities of grain during the harvest," - said Deputy Prime Minister Kowalczyk.
The head of the Ministry of Agriculture also reminded that on May 12, the European Commission declared assistance in the transport of grains from Ukraine and in the organization of solidarity corridors, but we are still waiting for specific solutions and measures.
"The most important thing now is to increase our storage capacity," emphasized the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Answering the questions of the meeting participants, Deputy Prime Minister Kowalczyk emphasized that for formal reasons it was not possible to introduce an intervention purchase. However, other solutions in this regard are under consideration. ■