Closing the border with Ukraine, as proposed by Polish farmers, will not affect the Polish grain market. Prices in Poland are derived from prices on global exchanges, in particular the Paris MATIF exchange, which is the basis for the price of grain in domestic ports. Port prices are crucial for prices in other regions of the country.
This was stated by Polish analyst Miroslaw Marciniak in an interview with Onet.pl.
“Let’s pay attention to another important issue. In the fall of 2022, when imports of Ukrainian grains to Poland were the largest, prices in Poland were at a historically high level. Farmers could sell wheat, corn or rapeseed at really high prices. But they didn’t do it. Because they were expecting even higher prices,” says Marciniak.
He added that the then Deputy Prime Minister of Poland Henryk Kowalczyk told farmers “don’t sell, because it will be even more expensive.”
According to Marciniak, when the Polish government introduced a unilateral ban in April 2023, it was no longer profitable to import grain from Ukraine. (UkrAgroConsult)
