Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Henryk Kowalczyk, spoke with representatives of Polish farmers in the international Copa Cogeca structures and with representatives of the agricultural self-government.
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During the Thursday press briefing, Deputy Prime Minister Kowalczyk spoke about the dialogue with farmers, actions for the benefit of Polish agriculture in the context of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and about the export of Polish grain.
"I have systematic contact with farmers. We talk about the current problems in agriculture. Today in the morning, I met the farmers who represent Poland in the Copa Cogeca organization to listen to their comments, but also to provide them with the necessary information needed in various international forums," emphasized Kowalczyk.
"I regularly meet with the agricultural agreement, under which there are more than twenty thematic groups. And this is how I get to know the solutions proposed by farmers," added Kowalczyk.
Noting the drastic price increases, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture emphasized the actions taken by the government and assured that the government of Law and Justice would not leave farmers alone.
"What we can do in this difficult situation, we do. We have lowered VAT on food to zero, as well as on fertilizers, and in other cases we have significantly lowered VAT rates," he said.
The deputy prime minister also reminded about nearly PLN 4 billion allocated to compensation for the purchase of fertilizers. Poland is the only country that has applied such a mechanism. He also talked about support for pig farmers and fruit growers.
"All these measures are mitigating the effects of the drastic increase in prices, the increase mainly caused by Russia's aggression towards Ukraine," added Kowalczyk.
The head of the Ministry of Agriculture also informed about the work related to the transit of Ukrainian grain.
"We expect technical assistance from the EU. Without it, we are not able to transport 4.5 - 5 million tons of grain, as the Ukrainian side would like," said Kowalczyk.
He also informed that we currently export three times more grain than we import.
"We export both Ukrainian and Polish grain," he added. "After the harvest, every farmer will be able to sell cereals," assured Kowalczyk. ■