Polish, Ukrainian dairy associations urge protesting Polish farmers not to create problems for industry
MOSCOW. March 1 (Interfax) - The Polish Chamber of Milk, the Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine, and the Association of Milk Producers have asked the governments of Poland and Ukraine and both agriculture ministers not to close the Polish-Ukrainian border for the sake of dialogue, Ukrainian media said, citing a joint statement of the milk producers made at a meeting in Bialystok.
"We are interested in further cooperation to provide Ukrainian consumers with Polish dairy products and to offer stable milk prices to farmers. We want to share knowledge, invest on both sides of the border, and build bridges for good businesses and farmers," the Polish media outlet pap.pl quoted the document.
Polish Chamber of Milk President Agnieszka Maliszewska said at a press conference that the call aimed to draw attention of the governments of Ukraine and Poland to the possibility of dialogue and cooperation. The milk industry continues to cooperate, while the border closure to Polish dairy products or restricted exchanges between the two countries will entail "huge problems," especially for the Polish milk industry, she said.
According to the Polish Chamber of Milk, the Polish trade balance in dairy products is positive and amounts to 96.7 million euros per year.
The current global policy may lead to Poland's loss of the Ukrainian market, which will affect the milk industry, Maliszewska said.
"If we fail to pay our farmers good money for the milk they produce, then, unfortunately, Polish production will continue to shrink," she said.
The increasing delivery costs and logistic problems exacerbate the situation: Polish companies are unwilling to transport goods to Ukraine, and carriers are unwilling to transit Poland because of the border situation, Maliszewska said.
In turn, Director of the Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine Arsen Didur called for leaving aside the problem of Ukrainian grain and the related animosity and unpleasant comments on both sides of the border, so that other industries could cooperate.
In his words, Ukraine counts on closer cooperation between Polish and Ukrainian dairy industries and the equal treatment of the issue by both sides. Besides selling dry milk and ice cream, Ukrainian milk producers would like to borrow Polish farm management practices.
Maliszewska asked protesting Polish farmers to remember that grain producers are not the only ones operating in Poland: Podlaskie and Warmian-Masurian voivodeships and the Lublin region also produce milk.
"Do not forget about them, do not block the roads to them, and do not create additional problems for Polish agriculture," she said.