European Union shows patience over suspending duty-free grain contingent

Following talks with the EU, due to the difficult situation in agriculture, the government decided on Tuesday to defer the duty-free contingent of 480,000 tones of EU wheat until October 1. Analysts, however, have mixed feelings about the consequences of this decision. "It has a psychological rather than economic significance, and is unlikely to influence grain prices," claims Piotr Beska from Eternus Brokers. According to Wieslaw Lapaciuk from the Institute of Agricultural Economics, this measure should lower the tension on the market, "We should not overestimate the positive effects of this decision, as grain imports this year are much lower than last year". The European Commission did not object to the delay, but warned that if the contingent was not opened on October 1, the EU may decide not to allow the entry of some Polish agricultural products on favorable terms. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B2) K.S.