Polish cement producers call for a limit on the import of Ukrainian products to protect the domestic market. About this informs edition of Puls Biznesu.
From 2019 to 2023, the volume of cement supplies from Ukraine to Poland increased by more than 1,500%. In 2020, imports were only 32,000 tons, in 2021 they increased to 52,600 tons, in 2022 to 101,700 tons, and in 2023 they reached 340,000 tons.
Import volumes are expected to exceed 500,000 tons in 2024, and may reach 1.5 million tons in 2025, said Zbigniew Pilch, head of the Association of Polish Cement Manufacturers. Before the beginning of the war, Ukraine consumed about 12 million tons of cement annually, but now this figure has decreased to 4 million tons. The surplus is mainly exported to Poland.
“Uncontrolled supply of cement from Ukraine is unfair competition, as its producers do not bear the costs of the climate policy of the European Union, unlike ours. Therefore, we cannot compete with Ukrainian imports. In such a situation, the existence of, for example, a cement plant in Khelm, 25 km from the border with Ukraine, will not be justified. As a result, at least 1,300 people will lose their jobs.” – said Pilkh.
The association proposes to establish quotas for the import of Ukrainian cement.
“Our demand is to limit duty-free imports at the average level of the last three years. If we don’t do this, we will soon have to close the cement factories.” – added the head of the Association.
