Polish govt plans to publish new list of Ukrainian grain importers

MOSCOW. Feb 12 (Interfax) - The Polish government is searching for legal grounds to publish a new list of importers of Ukrainian grain, Ukrainian media said, citing Poland's RFM24 radio.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with residents of Morag, a town in the Warmian-Masurian province, on Sunday, the radio station said. The meeting was also attended by Polish Deputy Agriculture Minister Michal Kolodziejczak, who said that the list of companies cleared to import grain from Ukraine has been compiled and is ready to be published.

"The list of all companies is ready. This week, we will rely on such legal conclusions to ensure that it is published, to allow every Pole to see who earned money when Polish farmers were facing big problems," Kolodziejczak said.

This list has been drawn up using information from different services, whereas the list published by the previous government is not accurate and "is not consistent with the reality," the deputy minister said, adding that the information on such imports "is shocking", as Ukraine received PLN 6 billion, he said.

"A total of 330,000 tonnes of technical grain, rapeseed and corn that were brought to the Polish market obviously ended up in consumption. The cheapest wheat that was imported from Ukraine last year cost PLN 51 per tonne, which is 20 times below the profitability threshold for growing it in Poland," Kolodziejczak said.

The Polish Agriculture Ministry published a 62-page list of companies importing grain from Ukraine on its website in November 2023. That decision of the ministry then came under criticism from representatives of the Polish grain market.