The EU has spent millions on Ukrainian poultry and angered Polish farmers

Since the beginning of the conflict, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has provided Ukrainian agricultural producers with almost a billion dollars in loans. More than a fifth of these funds went to the poultry giant MHP. Polish farmers are outraged because their country is the largest producer of poultry in the EU, FT writes.

“The poultry industry in Poland is collapsing, while one company, MHP, is getting richer. Duty-free imports of chicken from Ukraine and other agricultural products must be stopped immediately,” said Polish opposition deputy Janusz Kowalski.

According to Eurostat, annual imports of poultry meat from Ukraine to the EU have more than doubled since the beginning of the conflict. Andrzej Danielak, President of the Polish Poultry Breeders and Producers Association, stated that the EU is sabotaging its own agricultural program by helping finance Ukrainian giants like MHP, which are not restricted by European standards of animal welfare and rules regarding labor and production.