On January 4, Polish farmers renewed the blockade of the Medika-Shegyny border crossing point on the border with Ukraine, putting forward demands to the government regarding corn subsidies, liquid loans for farmers, and maintaining the agricultural tax at the previous year's level.
Deputy Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, Denys Marchuk, assessed the losses that Ukraine suffered as a result of the renewed blockade on the Polish border. He also noted that the Poles' position is not limited to the demand for subsidies for growing corn.
The Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council emphasized that the financial losses for the Ukrainian economy are colossal. The import ban, which has been in place since May, together with the blockade and ban on transportation, have led to losses of several billion euros.
According to the European Carriers Association, the blockade alone since November has led to difficulties and losses worth more than 15 billion euros.
The inability to pass through the blockade has led to lost prospects for Ukraine. Distributors and logistics companies have established commercial relations with other parts of the Eurozone, as the Poles have closed imports to Ukraine.
Marchuk emphasized that many entrepreneurs, spending weeks in queues, lost the opportunity to sell their products in 2024.
Now, due to the blockade and travel restrictions, Ukraine has lost the opportunity to fulfill promising contracts for next year. This will lead to indirect losses for Ukrainian businesses, particularly in the agricultural sector.
“When European retail chains cannot receive products from Ukraine on time, they look for an alternative. This is where the Polish alternative arises,” added the deputy chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council.
