There are no easy and quick solutions. What happened yesterday and today is worse for both sides, said Rafał Mładanowicz, former plenipotentiary of the Minister of Agriculture for the development of cooperation with Ukraine, on TVN24 BiS. He pointed out that for several months, no systems have been introduced in Poland or the European Union that could help Ukraine. – The people managing state-owned companies and the ruling party are most to blame – he said.
Poland, Slovakia and Hungary limited grain imports from Ukraine after European Commission decided not to extend the sales ban to five countries neighboring Ukraine, including Romania and Bulgaria. In response, Ukraine filed complaints on Monday with the World Trade Organization (WTO) on this matter.
The matter was commented on TVN24 BiS by Rafał Mładanowicz, former plenipotentiary of the Minister of Agriculture for the development of cooperation with Ukraine.
– There are no easy and quick solutions. What happened yesterday and today is worse for both sides, he said.
Expert: terrorizing politicians in Poland and around the world
According to him, the biggest problem is that for several months, systems to help Ukraine have not been introduced in Poland and the European Union.
– To thus protect the internal market of the European Union against the enormous competitiveness of agricultural production in Ukraine. The costs of grain production in Ukraine are 25 percent of those in the European Union. This cannot be compared, he emphasized.
He added that the reference to world hunger irritates him. – The harvest lasts all year round. There is no possibility of a shortage of agricultural raw materials. The problem in the world and in Europe is the issue of disinformation and capital, which influences where, to whom and what is to be sold. The concept of hunger is being abused to terrorize politicians in Poland and around the world, he said.
Rafał Mładanowicz also noted in the conversation that we had not created “conditions for the processing and use of agricultural raw materials in various types of fuels.”
– During the war, we buy a lot of raw materials from Russia. This is unimaginable to the average person. People die every day in war, and they still do business with Russia. It’s terrifying, he said.
Agrarian reform in Europe
In his opinion, Poland is in a fantastic geopolitical and geographical position. – Our ports can develop quickly. We cannot switch sides politically and have a war with the Ukrainian side, he stressed.
– We need to prepare for agricultural reform in Europe. Every farmer will say that he does not want subsidies, but wants conditions to run his business. If there is no agricultural policy, no export and processing systems, it is impossible (to run a business – editor’s note) – he explained.
Mładanowicz recalled that while working in the ministry, he pointed out that “we have a huge amount of infrastructure in Poland that is not used.”
– It is there and we need a few months to launch it. This infrastructure is on the eastern border wall. We have an agro terminal in the Tricity ports – he said, assuring that “everything can be done”.
When asked that if everything could be done, what was missing, he replied: “responsibility and courage.” – The people managing state-owned companies and the ruling party are most to blame. (Also) the trade union side, activists and the opposition side did not put too much pressure on the government to make radical decisions that would not lead to the situation that occurred yesterday or today, he explained.
“We are dealt the cards by the weather”
The TVN24 BiS guest also commented on commodity prices. – The high prices we had were not natural. There was no reason for them to shoot into space as they did. Now prices are almost normal, but production costs are not normal. There is absolutely no justification for what has been happening in recent months, he said.
In his opinion, we cannot predict anything in agriculture today. – We sow and harvest once a year, and we have increasing problems with animal production. It’s getting harder and harder for us to make money. Everything is unpredictable here. Our cards are dealt by the weather, we have huge costs – he summed up.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO