Buy from a Polish farmer

Friday 26 May 2023 (14:45)

The Prime Minister approved the proposal for a new line of credit for companies that buy grain from Polish farmers, as well as the so-called soft fruits – reported the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Robert Tellos. He added that it was about helping companies buy goods from fruit growers and farmers.

In the morning, Tellus explained in the media that work is underway on a list of working capital loans for companies that buy grain and soft fruits from Polish farmers: up to PLN 40 million for 2 percent. For 18 months the state will pay the rest.

The head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development indicated during the press conference on Friday that his proposal had been accepted by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. As explained by Robert Tellos, it is about “a new line of credit for companies buying from a Polish farmer”. “For companies that buy grain from a Polish farmer, as well as the so-called soft fruits, “- noted the Minister of Agriculture. “We also want to help these companies to be able to get a working capital loan so that they can buy goods from fruit growers and gardeners,” he added.

During the conference, Tellus talked about the details of a solution whereby processors would be able to obtain a preferential loan for the purchase of soft fruits. “They will be able to get a loan at 2 percent, and the state will pay the rest. The cost has been estimated at PLN 370 million for the year. The maximum loan amount is PLN 40 million, and it can be obtained by a small or medium-sized business, where regulations mean European Union that a micro-enterprise and a small or medium business can get a loan.At the same time, the loan can be taken to buy grains or soft fruits, and it is a guarantee that the loans will be used for goods from our farmers, not farmers from other countries.

He specified that the loans will be available to those who buy grains from May 15 to August 31 or soft fruits from June 1 to September 30. The head of the Ministry of Agriculture made a reservation that he was talking about decisions made by the Cabinet, but in order to launch the program it is necessary to notify the European Commission, which – as he informed – the application has already been sent.

“I hope that the European Union will notify this and allow us to support the loan from the national budget,” said Minister Tellos. “Of course, companies that want to use the loan must have creditworthiness,” he added.

May 11 this year Telus admitted in an interview with TV Trwam that there is a problem with berries and soft fruits, because there is the largest amount of frozen foods in refrigerated warehouses. “A new season is coming and we need to take some measures. I am talking to the fruit industry and we are looking for a common solution. There is also a problem with apple juice, because in 2021 it had reached 5.7 thousand tons and in 2022 – 37 thousand tons. I say This is to show that we are watching it, and not, as some people say, that it is an out-of-control influence,” the Minister of Agriculture stressed at the time.