“One of the most important challenges this year is to sort out relations with Ukraine, to ensure that the aid directed to Ukraine is appropriate, but not at the expense of Polish farmers and Polish entrepreneurs. We are talking about this both with the EC and with the Ukrainian side” – Krajewski pointed out.
“We are aware that Ukraine wants to export its products, we also care about this. There is an ongoing debate on extending the duty-free inflow of products from Ukraine. We must ensure that these products do not stay in Poland – they should go to third countries” – added.
The politician noted that the problem, which has so far been publicized by countries bordering Ukraine, is also already noticed in the West.
“The problem of excess sugar and excess grain has already arisen there. We are talking about creating solutions that, on the one hand, will help export these Ukrainian products, and on the other hand, will not harm our market,” he added.
The Polagra Premiery fair has been taking place in Poznań since Friday. The largest and recognized brands of agricultural equipment and supplies are presented at the Poznań International Fair.
Fair guests see aggregates, seeders, strip tillage machines, and machines for vegetable producers. Exhibitions of milking systems, feed dispensing machines and equipment for livestock buildings were prepared for livestock producers. There are also producers of seeds, fertilizers and chemicals. More than 250 exhibitors present their offers in Poznań.
The editor-in-chief of Top Agrar, Karol Bujoczek, said on Friday in an interview with PAP that the economic situation on agricultural markets translates into farmers’ investment opportunities.
“We notice this in the agricultural machinery markets of many segments, because the turnover in companies has dropped, the interest has dropped, and we see that this interest is actually only in those large farms that run enterprises of several hundred hectares, because they have to systematically renew the machines, and also in larger farms, that produce milk,” he said.
“The biggest breakdown is in the medium segment, where the drop in grain prices, the drop in prices of rapeseed, corn and animal products means that farmers unfortunately do not have money to renew machines. In 2023, 20-25 percent fewer tractors and 30 percent fewer machines were sold. than in 2022. It is clear that this market has become very weak,” he added.
The expert emphasized that this is also the result of higher machine prices. “Due to increased labor costs and energy costs, many companies have increased the prices of machines and the result is that today, for many farmers, even good ones, they are simply unattainable. This can also be seen at these fairs, where there are companies that offer various machine financing systems, as well as companies that offer machine rental, or even sharing of agricultural machines, similar to carsharing, i.e. the possibility of using the machine only for the duration of work,” he noted.
Karol Bujoczek said that a radical change for the better is unlikely in the coming months.
“This is because profitability in agriculture will not change dramatically. Many farmers still have their goods to sell, prices are very moderate, we see stagnation. It is not certain that they will be able to sell their raw materials at higher prices. We also have stagnation on the market. fertilizers; in Poland, fertilizers are even more expensive than in the West, where a systematic but slight decline in prices is observed,” he said.
He added that there is an expectation that machine manufacturers will decide to revise the prices of their products.
“There is discussion in the international press whether the record profits of companies producing tractors and agricultural machinery are justified in the current situation. If these machines were slightly cheaper, the market would obviously be more lively. We can expect favorable offers of machines this year, and some manufacturers They will probably have to lower their prices a bit to introduce these machines to the market,” said Karol Bujoczek.
