Polish farmers blockaded the border with Lithuania due to Ukrainian grain

Protesting Polish farmers have begun blocking the border with Lithuania to halt the import of Ukrainian grain.

This was announced by the protest coordinator, farmer Karol Pechinsky.

“The mood is such that we will block all traffic. We will let nothing through,” he said.

Pechinsky explained that Polish farmers want to completely halt the movement of goods across the border with Lithuania to stop the “grain carousel.”

“Ukrainian grain enters the Lublin or Subcarpathian Voivodeship in transit through our country. This is allowed despite the embargo. Then the truck heads to Lithuania. Polish authorities stop tracking this transport after crossing the border with Lithuania. Then the truck with grain returns to the border and changes documents. The cargo becomes an EU commodity, which freely enters the country,” he said.

According to Pechinsky, on Friday at 10:00, farmers will block the largest crossing point with Lithuania, Budzisko. Initially, they plan to block it for a week.

In turn, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, Michal Kolodziejczak, stated that according to his information, Ukrainian grain does not enter the country from Lithuania, at least not in significant quantities.

“I spoke with the head of the Road Inspection three weeks ago. The movement of trucks (at the Polish-Ukrainian border) was checked. Out of more than 1500 trucks that entered from Lithuania, only one case was identified, which suggests that Ukrainian goods could have been imported from Lithuania,” he said on RMF FM radio.

According to the minister, at current grain prices, such transportation is not profitable.

Recall that on February 9, a nationwide protest by farmers began in Poland. They are protesting across the country, blocking roads and approaches to border crossings with Ukraine. Unknown individuals have already spilled grain from Ukrainian trucks and railway wagons several times at border crossings. Last Tuesday, an organized march to Warsaw by agricultural union workers took place in the Polish capital.

The main demands of the protesters are to stop the import of agricultural products from Ukraine to Poland and to reject the European Union’s environmental plans (the so-called green course), which aim for zero emissions by 2050.