Autonomous trade funds (ATM) for Ukraine, introduced to facilitate exports to the EU without duties and restrictions, will expire on June 5, 2025. Experts indicate that the liberalization of imports from Ukraine caused destabilization of the agricultural market in border countrieswhich was particularly noticed by Polish farmers by organizing protests and blockades of border crossings.
The European Commission has taken actions to protect the market, introducing mechanisms to limit the import of such products as poultry, eggs, sugar, corn and honey. From June this year. The size of tariff contingents will be determined in proportion to the part of the year in which they are to apply. The Ministry of Agriculture emphasizes that the EC treats this solution as temporary, Although negotiations on the deepening of liberalization on the basis of the EU-Ukraine Association are currently underway.
Minister Czesław Siekierski pointed out in an interview with the media that although he understands the difficult situation of Ukraine, he does not agree to that Polish farmers, especially those from border regions, have incurred the main burden of opening the European market. “Negotiations are very difficult,” he said, adding that some countries, such as Spain, Portugal or the Netherlands, could be interested in faster progress in conversations, taking into account their own needs regarding the import of grain from Ukraine.
New quotas
According to the department's data, fragmentary restoration of duties from June 6 this year. It will cause significant differences in the amount of permissible imports on the example of products such as sugar, eggs or cereal. For eggs, a duty -free quota import by the end of the year will be 3,500 tons against the previous 9,662 tons under ATM. For sugar, the appropriate values are 11,708 tons compared to 109 438 tons of previously applicable, and for groats – 4,550 tons compared to the previous 8,603 tons.
In Poland, under national regulations, it still applies Blocking for the import of cereals from Ukraine. The grain can only pass transit through our country, which leaves Polish farmers in a situation of partial exclusion of domestic competition against Ukrainian grain exports.
