The Ukrainian Agri Council shares the indignation of the Ukrainian agricultural community regarding the cynical destruction of Ukrainian grain by protesters at the Polish border and calls for an immediate stop to such radical actions.

On February 11, near the Yagodyn-Dorogusk checkpoint, Polish farmers prevented three trucks with grain from passing, barbarically damaging the cargo sealing and spilling the products onto the road. The police are currently investigating the protesters' actions.

"This cynical destruction of Ukrainian grain by Polish protesters is unacceptable and immoral, as Ukrainian farmers have been sowing and harvesting crops under enemy fire and between the rockets for almost two years now, risking their lives. Russian missiles are destroying Ukrainian bread and granaries, and the invaders are stealing it from Ukrainian fields in the temporarily occupied territories. The courage of Ukrainian farmers not only provides jobs for the population during the war, but also generates a significant share of Ukraine's wartime GDP and supports global food security," comments Andriy Dykun, head of the Ukrainian Agri Council and charity foundation SaveUA.

According to the head of the UAC, the actions of Polish colleagues in such circumstances are unacceptable. Instead of understanding, Ukrainian farmers are faced with unfair actions from Polish farmers who have never seen their bread destroyed by enemies, their fields burning and their equipment being blown up by mines.

In addition, the blocking of the Ukrainian border is a rather manipulative measure, as in recent months Ukraine has been exporting the vast majority of its agricultural products via other logistics routes, and no more than 300 thousand tons of products are exported through the western borders.

"The protests of Polish farmers against Ukrainian agricultural products do not correspond to the real state of affairs. Ukraine exports no more than 300 thousand tons of products through its western borders by land. The rest, thanks to the work of the Armed Forces, is exported via the sea corridor. If such small volumes cause indignation, the question arises as to why the same indignation does not arise in relation to another country that sells much larger volumes to Poland?" - says Andriy Dykun.

According to research reported by journalists on Radio Liberty, from January 2022 to August 2023, Russia exported more than 12 million tons of various types of agricultural products to Poland. During the same period, Ukrainian supplies to Poland did not exceed 4.5 million tons.

Ukrainian farmers are outraged by the artificial barriers created for Ukrainian products. But they are confident that the problem is exacerbated by the political aspect, as Europe is once again entering the election race.

"First, there will be local elections in Poland, and later - elections to the European Parliament. This strike can be stopped if there is political will, but for some reason this is not happening. We understand that Russia is involved in provoking the Ukrainian-Polish conflict. We also remain grateful for the assistance provided by Poland and the Polish people to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, but this does not give any right to humiliate our farmers by destroying the sacred product for us - bread," says the head of the UAC.

It is worth recalling that on April 15, 2023, the Polish government unilaterally imposed a ban on imports of Ukrainian grains and oilseeds. As a result, the products traveling through Poland are in transit to buyers in other countries. The blocking of the border also means that products from Poland and other countries cannot enter Ukraine, causing losses not only to Polish companies. At the same time, the attractiveness of Polish Baltic ports and related infrastructure as potentially convenient transshipment routes for Ukrainian exports is irrevocably destroyed.

The Ukrainian Agri Council hopes to reach a mutual understanding in this situation and calls for an end to the deliberate destruction of Ukrainian agricultural products. Instead, we offer a constructive dialogue and invite you to join forces in developing mutually beneficial cooperation in third markets.