In November and December 2023, due to the blockade of the crossing points between Ukraine and Poland, the domestic economy and producers lost more than EUR1.5 billion.

Denys Marchuk, Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Agri Council, said this during a briefing at the Ukraine Media Center.

"If we talk about the consequences of the blockade itself, first of all, we need to recall the consequences of the first prohibition on imports of Ukrainian products from May to September, when there was a prohibition on imports of Ukrainian products to five Eastern European countries. Further, all of these actions resulted in Polish carriers and Polish farmers blocking customs crossings between Ukraine and Poland. In fact, for November and December in general, if we calculate the losses incurred by the country's economy, including commodity producers, they reach more than EUR1.5 billion. This is quite a lot of funds that the Ukrainian budget is not receiving on time, and producers, logistics companies, and all those involved in the import and export of goods from and to Ukraine have not received on time," he explained.

According to Denys Marchuk, the echo of the blockades will be felt throughout 2024, as a significant number of producers who were forced to stand in lines lost potential contracts with representatives in the European zone.

"I know of cases where hypermarkets have refused to cooperate because they were unable to deliver products on time, and therefore, according to the plans that this business had made, it is actually unable to secure the export of the relevant products in the future," he explained.

In addition, Ukrainian entrepreneurs lost their contracts and customers in European countries because the goods were not delivered on time.

According to Denys Marchuk, the blockade of the checkpoints has resulted in a 40% decrease in agricultural exports by road. Exporters from the western regions of Ukraine, who usually supply their products to Europe by land, have suffered the most from the border blockade.