A few days ago, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced plans to construct a large grain terminal in Gdańsk, a port city in northern Poland.
This terminal will serve two primary purposes: facilitating the export of Polish and foreign grain and enhancing Poland's food security during emergencies. The investment is expected to cost 500 million zlotys (approximately 117 million euros).
Once operational in 2026, the terminal is anticipated to have an initial handling capacity of two million tons of grain, which will later be increased to three million tons. Currently, the grain terminals in other port cities have more handling capacity than they can utilize, but the new terminal will be allocated to companies fully dependent on the government.
The Prime Minister mentioned that the Polish government attempted to regain control of the grain terminals in Szczecin and Gdynia but faced legal and ownership challenges. The construction of the new terminal will be carried out by construction companies that are entirely government-controlled.
In Gdynia, a large grain terminal struggled for a long time to choose its operator because the tenders were awarded to a company that did not receive approval from politicians and agricultural organizations. For the second time, the tender was won by the same private company affiliated with the global grain-handling giant Viterra.
At the same time, the state-owned National Food Industry Group did not succeed. The final decision is still pending, as the granting of the lease requires approval from the Ministry of Infrastructure.
Ultimately, the country's food security does not rely on who builds the terminal or grain storage facilities but on establishing clear and transparent regulations and ensuring proper spending of public funds for mandatory reserves. Unfortunately, this reflects a typical trend in a centralized state that promotes the saving role of the government while also wanting to exert political influence over the economy.
A subsequent step in Poland could be the revival of state-owned farms, as only state entities will be able to produce grain, which will then be transported by state railroads to state-owned warehouses.
