The conclusion of a trade agreement with Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia) would mean an increase in agricultural imports into the EU by €2 billion, Polish Business Insider reports, according to analyses prepared by the European Commission.
EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski says these data raise justified concerns among European farmers. In Wojciechowski’s opinion, in conditions of high destabilization and market sensitivity, especially concerning beef, poultry and sugar, the concerns of European, including Polish, farmers are justified.
“Farmers are under too much pressure to add additional factors that increase the uncertainty now,” he noted. Farmers have protested the deal, saying it will hurt their competitiveness.
Wojciechowski reported that the annual value of agricultural imports to the EU from Mercosur countries amounts to approximately €25 billion per year, with the largest agricultural exporter being Brazil.
Wojciechowski pointed out that the European Union currently has a positive trade balance in the agricultural sector.
“Agriculture is really achieving excellent results. With the overall deficit in EU foreign trade amounting to around €500 billion, there is a surplus of around €70 billion in agricultural trade. In most product groups: grain, meat, dairy products, fruit and vegetables, the EU has safe surpluses of 10-20 percent,” he said.
During a recent meeting in Poland, demonstrators held banners outside with slogans such as: “Polish agriculture died a martyr’s death as a result of the EU-Mercosur agreement” and “Mercosur = the end of family farms in the EU.”
A few days ago, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Stefan Krajewski said in the Sejm that the planned free trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries has little chance of coming into force because it requires unanimity of the EU Council, and Poland will not ratify the agreement in its current form.
The EU and Mercosur agreed in June 2019 to create a free trade zone for 700 million people after 20 years of talks. The deal has not yet been ratified.
The EU is Mercosur’s second-largest goods trading partner after China, accounting for 16.2 percent of the bloc’s total trade in 2021. Mercosur is the EU’s 11th-largest goods trading partner. In 2021, EU exports to the four Mercosur countries amounted to €45 billion, while Mercosur exports to the EU amounted to €43 billion.
There is still no unanimous support for the agreement, with Germany and Spain strongly in favor and France attempting to get other countries, including Poland, to join it in blocking any deal.
