Figures exceeded the level of 2021: how much agricultural products Poland imported from Russia

Poland imported US$2.6 billion worth of goods from Russia and US$450 million from Belarus in 2023. If considering only agricultural products, their imports from Russia to Poland reached US$117 million and exceeded the level of 2021, i.e. the level before the full-scale war.

Source: data from the Ekonomichna Pravda article

Details: "In particular, imports of grains and oilseeds have more than doubled, while imports of oil have remained almost unchanged. At the same time, imports of meals and other processing residues fell from US$25 million in 2021 to only US$1 million in 2023," the article says. 

The situation is similar in Poland's trade with Belarus. Imports of grains, oilseeds and meals gradually increased in both 2022 and 2023. In total, Poland paid Belarusians US$55 million for agricultural products last year.

For reference: Agricultural products are defined as the volume of trade in goods classified as HS 10 Cereals, HS 12 Oilseeds, HS 15 Seeds and HS 23 Processing residues and grist. Food products are not included.

"However, to understand the scale of this problem, two facts need to be taken into account. The volume of Poland's imports from Russia and Belarus is significantly lower than its imports from Ukraine. Last year, Ukraine sold US$1.3 billion worth of agricultural products to Poland, while Russia and Belarus sold US$117 million and US$55 million, respectively," the article says. 

Apart from grist, Poland hardly imports any other goods from Russia and Belarus, which were embargoed against Ukraine. The only item that is still present is Russian sunflower seeds, but in tiny volumes – about US$50,000 per month.

Background: 

• Poland will "thoroughly" analyse the aftermath of Latvia's decision to ban imports of Russian food products and does not rule out that it will take appropriate steps.

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