Jan Rojewski: At the end of November, a planet wellness Organization summit will be held in Panama. We know that 1 of the main topics will be the simplification of tobacco production and that the European Commission agrees with the WHO policy. What does this mean for Polish growers?
Noworyt Przemysław: WHO intends to carry out a real revolution. The proposed changes include, inter alia, the rolling ban on tobacco cultivation, taxation increases and the alignment of excise duties on cigarettes and another tobacco products specified as tobacco heaters. The implementation of all these ideas would have disastrous consequences for Poland. We are the largest tobacco exporter in the European Union and tobacco plantations give respective tens of thousands of jobs.
I haven't rather understood since what the WHO says became law. The planet wellness Organization seems to have suggested changes to date.
Yes, but this time, the WHO is behind the European Commission, which will guarantee that the standards invented in Panama rapidly become the laws in force throughout the Union. I have large doubts about the intentions of the Panamanian summit. specified conventions are held all 2 years in luxury hotels around the world. Previously, they were Switzerland, Chile and Uruguay. It discusses issues that go far beyond public health. I'll give you an example. A fewer years ago, there was a discussion about the ban on taste cigarettes. utilizing this, the WHO suggested that sugar be removed from the list of ingredients utilized to produce cigarettes. For growers increasing a burley variety, this would mean bankruptcy. Leaves of this variety lose natural sugar and become brittle during drying, so at the last phase of production sugar solution is added to them. Without this process, obtaining a salesable product is simply impossible.
What does the Polish government say? I know you had meetings at the beginning of September with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Health, but the others refused to talk to you.
I was 1 of the initiators of this meeting. We hoped that the government would perceive to our demands and proposals in the context of the Panama Conference. It happened that a delegation from the Ministry of wellness led by Deputy Minister Maciej Milkowski was the first to appear at the gathering place. erstwhile the Minister of Agriculture arrived, Mr Miłkowski stated that the regulations did not let him to talk to the tobacco manufacture and left. We were amazed due to the fact that we're just farmers. We might as well grow sugar beets or any another plant. We asked Minister Miłkowski if he was invited to a gathering of the Committee on Agriculture and agrarian improvement with our participation, whether he would come. He replied yes, but as a passive and non-voting participant.
Is this government behaviour fresh to you? I ask due to the fact that in fresh years the manufacture has been hit by a ban on the production of menthols or the end of EU subsidies. I say you talked to the authorities a lot back then.
First of all, I don't want to put everyone in 1 bag due to the fact that Minister Robert Telus has been fair to us. He listened and made it clear that he understood our point of view. We usually spoke to the authorities in the Committee on Agriculture. Regarding the ban on menthol production, the committee opposed its introduction. Furthermore, time has shown that this ban was not effective and did not affect consumer behaviour. What we were able to fight back then was to postpone the entry of the ban.
I'm trying to realize your position and the truth, if my manufacture had so many problems, I'd most likely start increasing something else.
That's impossible. Tobacco has this advantage over another crops that it can grow even on mediocre soil. This is simply a feature that is presented, for example, by the popular variety Virginia. In Poland we can find crops primarily in Lublin, Podkarpacie, Małopolska and Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. If the marketplace abruptly collapsed as a consequence of regulation, the effects of the WHO decisions would be revealed in these regions as shortly as possible. In Europe, for example, the Spanish Estremadura is dependent on tobacco farming. Greeks, too, would find it hard to grow oriental tobacco. Many of us have invested in their farms for years and, for example, have transformed them so that they can produce tobacco for water pipes. specified purchases frequently had to be credited. That's why the proposition to start increasing something else is missed.
50 000 farmers in Poland grow tobacco,
every 10 euro from Polish agri-food export is tobacco and tobacco
What pays in Poland is about to collide with EU plans.
It's a good test for the government if it can defend its own interestshttps://t.co/DoRr6fA8Ju
— Monika Przeworska (@TransworskaNika) October 3, 2023
You mentioned another regions of Europe, which will besides have problems if the provisions of the Panama Conference come into force. As the devil's advocate, I could now say that you are all in the same boat, and the destiny of the Polish farmer from Spanish is no different.
Differences between growers in Poland and another parts of Europe concern grown varieties of tobacco, but regulations will actually affect everyone. The duality of the European Commission is different. We Brussels throws logs at our feet, but at the same time negotiates with India an increase in duty-free tobacco quotas. India presently exports 45,000 tonnes of tobacco to Europe per year. It's a crucial amount, but it allows competition. If it were considered that an additional 100,000 tonnes of tobacco could enter Europe from Asia, it would not make sense to proceed increasing tobacco in Europe. The Chinese, who are the global leader in cigaret production, with as much as 40% share in the planet market, are besides sharpening their teeth on our market. I very much uncertainty that while we are scrupulously following the fresh law, in China anyone will care about WHO standards. EU tobacco may not be the cheapest, but we don't employment minors, we usage circumstantial fertilizers, we don't cut forests into crops. See what's going on in the Amazon. The European Commission's policy is to give the Lord a candle and a devil's eye. On the 1 hand, voters across the continent will be assured that they are in good hands and politicians care about their health. On the another hand, European business ends, leaving the field open to unethical players from another parts of the world.
