Also, agriculture contributes 2.1% to Poland's GDP in 2022 - that does not paint the whole picture.
>99% of Polish farms are relatively small family owned/operated farms. There are >200.000 of those individual family farms and they own >90% of arable land and >90% of livestock in Poland.
Allowing for unrestricted inflow of Ukrainian grain (in contrast to transit) means bankruptcy for them - conservative estimate would be half of million of people landing well below the poverty line overnight.
Let me make a slightly controversial suggestion regarding this whole joke with the ban on the sale of Ukrainian grain in Poland. In my humble opinion, this issue should be considered in a broader perspective. Namely, elections to the Parliament will be held in Poland on October 15. As we know so far, Ukraine's biggest ally in the conflict with Russia is Poland with the current government (PiS). I do not want to downplay the role of other countries involved in aid, but Poland has a key role due to its location. Let's ask ourselves what would happen if it turned out that the government in Poland changed after October 15 or that the current dominant party in the Polish Parliament had to look for "allies" to continue in power. Zelensky's tightening of rhetoric regarding the Polish embargo on Ukrainian grain is, in my opinion, an ideal gift for PiS because this "alleged" Polish-Ukrainian conflict causes the current government to gain in pre-election polls by taking away votes from the Confederation (the political group most willing to stop helping Ukraine).
I encourage you to delve deeper into Polish-Polish political relations, and not rely on the knowledge provided by the mass media.
To conclude, perhaps this confusion with Ukrainian grain is an ordinary political game and a tacit agreement between the current Polish government under Zelensky, because the result of this confusion is obvious and beneficial to those involved. PiS wins the elections and continues support for Ukraine as before. Zelensky is calm and has secured support in Poland (Poland is a military hub for Ukraine). Win-Win Business.
Thanks a lot Tom for your time
Also, agriculture contributes 2.1% to Poland's GDP in 2022 - that does not paint the whole picture.
>99% of Polish farms are relatively small family owned/operated farms. There are >200.000 of those individual family farms and they own >90% of arable land and >90% of livestock in Poland.
Allowing for unrestricted inflow of Ukrainian grain (in contrast to transit) means bankruptcy for them - conservative estimate would be half of million of people landing well below the poverty line overnight.
There's a lot going on, for sure. But I wish it was handled like Slovakia and Ukraine are handling it.
Let me make a slightly controversial suggestion regarding this whole joke with the ban on the sale of Ukrainian grain in Poland. In my humble opinion, this issue should be considered in a broader perspective. Namely, elections to the Parliament will be held in Poland on October 15. As we know so far, Ukraine's biggest ally in the conflict with Russia is Poland with the current government (PiS). I do not want to downplay the role of other countries involved in aid, but Poland has a key role due to its location. Let's ask ourselves what would happen if it turned out that the government in Poland changed after October 15 or that the current dominant party in the Polish Parliament had to look for "allies" to continue in power. Zelensky's tightening of rhetoric regarding the Polish embargo on Ukrainian grain is, in my opinion, an ideal gift for PiS because this "alleged" Polish-Ukrainian conflict causes the current government to gain in pre-election polls by taking away votes from the Confederation (the political group most willing to stop helping Ukraine).
I encourage you to delve deeper into Polish-Polish political relations, and not rely on the knowledge provided by the mass media.
To conclude, perhaps this confusion with Ukrainian grain is an ordinary political game and a tacit agreement between the current Polish government under Zelensky, because the result of this confusion is obvious and beneficial to those involved. PiS wins the elections and continues support for Ukraine as before. Zelensky is calm and has secured support in Poland (Poland is a military hub for Ukraine). Win-Win Business.