Polish cement producers are demanding protection from Ukrainian imports.

In 2020, supplies of Ukrainian cement to Poland amounted to 32,000 tons, in 2021 – 52,600 tons, in 2022 – 101,700 tons, in 2023 – up to 340,000 tons. This year, imports from Ukraine are expected to reach over 500,000 tons, and next year – 1.5 million tons.

Before the war, Ukraine used 12 million tons of cement each year, but now usage has fallen to four million tons. The surplus is exported mainly to Poland. The leading supplier is Ivano-Frankivskcement, ​​the largest Ukrainian producer, which is currently expanding, and its final production capacity should reach four million tons per year. Polish cement sector representatives see this as a threat.

“The uncontrolled cement flow from Ukraine is unfair competition since its producers do not bear the EU’s climate policy costs. Therefore, we cannot compete with Ukrainian imports,” the Polish Cement Producers Association believes and demands that during the review of the trade agreement between Ukraine and the EU in 2025, duty-free imports be limited to the average level of the last three years.