WARSAW: Hundreds of offended farmers descended on the Polish capital on Wednesday (Mar 6) to protest EU environmental guidelines and low cost imports from Ukraine and elsewhere exterior the bloc.
Blowing horns, throwing smoke bombs and firecrackers and lighting fires, the farmers gathered exterior the prime minister’s workplace in Warsaw, whereas others used their tractors to dam highways nationwide.
“I need to produce wholesome meals however we’re importing merchandise decrease in high quality than ours with which we won’t compete when it comes to worth,” stated protester Jan Kepa, who has a farm in southwestern Poland.
“We nonetheless have hope however we have been protesting for over a month and thus far there’s been no satisfying answer for us,” he informed AFP.
Polish farmers have additionally been blocking border crossings with Ukraine since final month to protest at what they are saying is unfair competitors from items getting into the Polish market from Ukraine.
Ukraine, as soon as dubbed “Europe’s breadbasket”, has seen its agriculture sector crippled by Russia’s invasion.
Lots of its main export routes by way of the Black Sea have been blocked and its farmland rendered unusable by warfare.
In a bid to assist Kyiv economically, the European Union in 2022 scrapped tariffs on Ukrainian items transiting the 27-nation bloc by street.
However logistical issues imply lots of the Ukrainian cereal exports destined for non-EU international locations have amassed in Poland, undercutting native producers.
