Farmers continue protest in Szczecin despite reaching agreement with government

Farmers from West Pomeranian Voivodeship have been protesting in Szczecin since last week. They are against mass influx of Ukrainian grain into Polish market and demand compensation for losses incurred as a result of war in Ukraine.

Ukraine, one of the world's largest grain exporters, had its Black Sea ports blocked following Russia's February 2022 invasion and found alternative shipping routes through European Union states Poland and Romania.

Logistical bottlenecks mean large quantities of Ukrainian grains, which are cheaper than those produced in the EU, have ended up in central European states, hitting prices and sales of local farmers

On Thursday (March 30) around noon, a cavalcade of farm vehicles drove into central Szczecin and blocked the traffic. In the so-called green town set up near Chrobry Embankment, the protesting farmers were giving out fresh fruits and vegetables, and tried to convince local residents to support their demands. The majority of Szczecin residents approach the protest with understanding.

On Wednesday evening, the farmers and Agriculture Minister Henryk Kowalczyk announced they had reached a preliminary agreement.

Even though the agreement addresses issues raised by the protesters, the farmers do not plan to suspend their protest nor to take their green town down. On the contrary. "We will be setting up blockades and step up the protest. We are waiting for the government. We are determined," the farmers told TVN24.

Organizations behind the protest feel they have been left out of the agreement. "Nobody talks with us, no one has reached out," the protesters say. They also declared they would not end their protest until they have seen actual effects of said agreement.

The displeasure of farmers poses a major headache for the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party in an election year as its conservative voter base mainly lives in rural areas and small towns.

"We demand the use of all regulatory instruments - quotas, tariffs, which will limit or block the import of Ukrainian grain into Poland," Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference on Wednesday (March 29).

European Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski would support curbs on trading with Ukraine if Poland proposed such a solution, he said on Thursday, amid anger from farmers over the effect of Ukrainian imports on grain prices.

"If the Polish government requests trading curbs with Ukraine obviously I will support that proposal," he told reporters in Brussels.

He spoke after the European Commission said it had approved a 56-million-euro ($61.1 million) aid package for farmers in countries bordering Ukraine. Poland will receive 30 million euros as part of the package.

"We are already preparing the next aid package and that will be for a bigger sum," Wojciechowski said.