As part of the all-Polish farmers’ strike in Bialystok, about 200 tractors blocked part of Mickiewicz Street near the voivodeship council.
Deputy governor Eva Kulikouskaya came out to the demonstrators, who listened to the demands of the farmers of Podlasie
“This is in order to listen -it is such a connector so that it is closer to both the ministry and the farmer. This applies not only to grain from Ukraine, as this situation has not been resolved. Sometimes the transport is designated as technical, there is no necessary control. Not only grain is being transported, for example, zucker. It is necessary for the Ministry to carry out additional control at the border. I hope we have established a dialogue among ourselves. For sure, it will continue in the form of some kind of conference, dates in a larger group,” Kulikouskaya said.
The main reasons for the demonstration both in Bialystok and throughout Poland were expressed by the organizer, farmer Dariusz Cihanousky. “We protest against the influx of goods from Ukraine. They have very low prices. Ukraine is a farm of large corporations, we cannot compete with them. In Poland, agriculture is small. Politicians say that this grain should go to Africa. And this grain actually gets to Europe. We have weak land in Podlasie, and everyone knows that Ukraine has the best land in the world,” the farmer said.
The farmers’ strike in Poland will last until February 19th. The corresponding demonstration will be repeated in Bialystok on Friday, February 16th.