Polish agricultural exports to the Mercosur bloc are rising as the long-debated trade agreement between the European Union and the South American customs union takes effect, IntelliNews reports.

The agreement, negotiated over more than two decades, lowers tariff barriers between the EU and Mercosur members — Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. For Polish producers, the deal opens preferential access to a market of roughly 270 million consumers.

The activation comes despite sustained opposition from European farm groups, who argue that Mercosur producers operate under weaker environmental, sanitary and labor standards. Polish growers, alongside counterparts in France and other member states, have staged protests warning that a surge of South American beef, poultry and grain could compress domestic farm margins already squeezed by high input costs.

For Polish exporters, the early data point the other way. Shipments of agricultural and food products into Mercosur countries have increased as the agreement's provisions enter into force, according to the IntelliNews report. The specific product categories and shipment volumes behind the increase were not detailed.

The competing dynamics — growth in Polish exports set against fears of import competition — frame the political fight that has surrounded the deal since the European Commission concluded negotiations in December 2024. Farmer organizations across the EU have pressed national governments to reject ratification, while export-oriented food processors and agricultural trading firms have backed the accord as a market-opening measure.

Poland's farm sector, a significant producer of poultry, apples, dairy and processed foods, stands on both sides of that ledger. The country's food industry has built export strength across EU markets, and Mercosur tariff reductions could extend that reach. At the same time, Polish livestock producers face the prospect of competing with lower-cost South American meat entering the EU under the agreement's tariff-rate quotas.

Whether the export gains now being recorded persist will depend on how quickly Polish suppliers establish distribution in Mercosur markets and whether ratification proceeds without renegotiation of the quotas and safeguard clauses that European farm lobby groups continue to challenge.