The Polish agricultural sector is grappling with serious structural and market challenges in February 2026. Reports indicate a paradoxical situation where, despite full warehouses, the country spends hundreds of millions of złoty on potato imports, primarily from Germany. Simultaneously, crop producers face a sharp spike in fertilizer prices, including urea, and difficulties entering fields due to weather conditions, forcing a change in sowing strategies.
Capital Drain Through Imports
Poland spent 288 million złoty on potato imports, with nearly half of that amount going to the German market, despite domestic overproduction.
Drastic Rise in Fertilizer Prices
The price of urea has increased by 220 złoty per ton, significantly raising cultivation costs and hitting farm profitability.
Block on Imports from Asia
Services detained 2.5 tons of cabbage from Thailand at the border, signaling a tightening of quality controls on products from outside the EU.
Change in Sowing Strategy
Problems with soil moisture are forcing farmers to abandon spring crops in favor of winter crops.
The national agricultural market is in a phase of deep destabilization, most evident in the root vegetable sector. Poland, historically a powerhouse in potato cultivation, paradoxically allocates enormous sums to import this product. According to the latest data, in the past year, 288 million złoty was spent on importing 180,000 tons of potatoes, of which as much as 137 million złoty went to contractors from Germany. Experts emphasize that Poland's potential is being squandered by underinvested processing and a lack of strategic production planning. Processors' potato producers are sounding the alarm about procurement price drops of up to 25%, which, with full warehouses, pushes them to the brink of profitability. Since the 1990s, the potato cultivation area in Poland has systematically declined – from over one million hectares to about 200,000 currently, a result of farm specialization and increasing quality demands from retail chains. The economic situation of farms is drastically worsened by rising production costs. The latest market surveys show that the price of urea has increased by about 220 złoty per ton. This is an effect not only of global trends but also of previously introduced tariffs on fertilizer imports from the East. As many as 70% of farmers declare that their operational costs have increased to a degree that prevents free investment, and purchases of production inputs are primarily made in cash. Border services have also intensified controls on food from Asia – recently, 2.5 tons of cabbage were detained, aimed at protecting the domestic market from goods that do not meet European standards. 137 mln zł — we paid Germany for potato imports Agrometeorological conditions are forcing farmers to revise spring plans. Problems with excessive soil moisture mean many producers cannot enter their fields, resulting in abandoning spring oat sowing in favor of winter varieties. Simultaneously, a crucial moment is underway for assessing the winter survival of winter crops. To salvage profitability, the industry promotes biostimulation as part of an anti-crisis strategy aimed at limiting the negative impact of weather stress on yields. Landowners for road construction, including the S-6 route, are losing patience due to delays in valuing seized properties, completing the picture of tensions in state-farmer relations.