Poland is considering the possibility of buying or leasing the Odesa port for the export of Polish and European grain. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Poland, Michal Kolodziejczak, informs Polsat News.
Commenting on the position of the European Commissioner for Agriculture, who expressed an opinion about the potential advantages of deepening trade relations between the EU, Ukraine and the MERCOSUR countries against the background of a possible conflict with the USA, Kolodziejczak noted that such cooperation with Ukraine could involve the creation of a Polish grain port.
He proposed that Poland purchase or lease the coastal territory of Ukraine for 50 years and build a port there. According to him, Odesa could become a suitable place for the implementation of this project.
“Polish and European grain would go there. In this way, we will secure access to the Black Sea, where the average price of a ton of wheat is PLN 100 higher due to lower transportation costs to African countries.”, he explained.
Kolodzejczak also expressed the opinion that Polish agricultural companies should get access to 500,000 hectares of agricultural land in Ukraine. He claims that both of these initiatives — a port in the Black Sea and land lease — arose during negotiations with the Ukrainian side regarding agrarian cooperation, during which he “saw that there was a lack of concreteness on both sides.”
According to him, Poland has fears about Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, because “we don’t know what will happen then.” Kolodziejczak emphasized that his proposals should be submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland as “conditions and needs for the protection of Polish agriculture.”
