– In July this year, the port of Constanța in Romania transhipped over 0.5 million tons of grain. At the same time, Polish ports have been recording drastic declines in transhipment. All this is the result of the bankruptcy of PKP Cargo and absolutely no activity by the Ministry of Infrastructure, and the extremely harmful actions of Mr. Kołodziejczak in the area of Polish Grain Terminals are inhibiting their development – wrote Marek Gróbarczyk, former Minister of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation (2015-2020) on platform X. He referred in this way to a recent publication by Rzeczpospolita on the use of grain terminals and the possibilities of their transhipment in Europe.
Are there investments in grain terminals?
Michał Kołodziejczak, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, commented on the topic on portal X, in reference to Gróbarczyk’s information.
What did he write? "On this subject my successes are clear and specific:
– a large contribution to defending the grain terminal in Gdynia from being leased to a foreign concern – the tender after which the terminal was to fall into foreign hands was invalidated (editor's note: here he mentioned Arkadiusz Marchewka, deputy minister in the Ministry of Infrastructure, by name).
– I was one of the first to point out the dangers of Ukrainian grain imports. Can you do anything other than repeating messages written by foreign lobbyists?
What information exactly were you referring to?
The Rzeczpospolita daily presented data on grain transshipment in our ports. It reported that in July there was 65 percent less grain than a year ago, because the export of grain, corn, rapeseed and meal in July 2023 amounted to 823 thousand tons, while in July 2024 – only 291 thousand tons. The article emphasized that farmers do not want to sell crops because they count on higher prices, and the Ukrainian one does not reach us because of the blockade, and Romania earns on it.
In the text, they quote a post on X by agricultural market analyst Mirosław Marciniak, who wrote: "Unfortunately, the prospects for the coming months do not look any better. The lack of local supply, the end of transit from Ukraine and all investments in the expansion of port infrastructure are now in question." He also pointed out that grain prices are indeed not satisfactory for farmers today. – I know that the prices are not satisfactory, but we are currently one of the most expensive markets in Europe, or at least in the region. Just wait and see how imported goods will start to enter our country on a larger scale. And not necessarily from Ukraine – added Marciniak on X.
The daily also quotes a broker. – Exports are poor, and the largest global companies buy 1-1.5 thousand tons per day, in normal circumstances they buy up to 10 thousand tons per day – the words of Dariusaz Kutzias, president of Daku International are quoted.
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Is there really a problem, as Gróbarczyk assessed? Mirosław Marciniak, who was cited in the Rzeczpospolita article, responded directly to his post on X. – I have the impression that you did not fully understand the article you attached, because the collapse of PKP Cargo is not related to the decrease in grain transshipments in ports. Unless this is a deliberate attempt to mislead public opinion – he wrote under the post of the former Minister of Maritime Economy.
When are our exports negligible?
We remind you of the numbers once again. In Polish ports, the export of grain, corn, rapeseed and meal in July 2023 amounted to 823 thousand tons, and in July 2024 – only 291 thousand tons.
Also in July, war-torn Ukraine doubled its exports compared to July 2023. And according to Reuters, exports rose to more than 4.2 million metric tons compared to the same month last year.
