Polish farmers say gas shortage has halted maize drying facilities
A propane shortage in Poland has stopped many grain dryers, and buyers are not accepting wet maize. A farmers' protest representative criticises the ministries' proposed fixes.
Poland is short of propane gas, which is used to dry maize grain, and many dryers across the country have stopped operating. Damian Murawiec of the Oddolny Ogólnopolski Protest Rolników, a grassroots nationwide farmers' protest movement, described the situation in November 2026. According to him, many grain buyers are not accepting wet maize from producers, leaving farmers unable to dry their harvest.
Criticism of ministry measures
Murawiec responded to Energy Minister Miłosz Motyka's statement about steps to improve gas deliveries. The Ministry of Infrastructure had eased restrictions on working hours for tanker drivers who deliver propane to dryers. The farmer argues this does not solve the problem: gas is lacking, and bottlenecks persist at terminals in dispensing gas and unloading ships. In his account, drivers wait in queues kilometres long for loading, including at the Gdańsk terminal.
He also criticised Deputy Agriculture Minister Małgorzata Gromadzka's view that the problem stems from temporarily high consumption of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) by cars.
Prices and disputes between institutions
The market is affected too. Murawiec said the price of wet maize fell from around 500 zloty per tonne to as low as 400 zloty per tonne, yet in practice buyers often still do not take the grain. Officially, he said, there is a price list and a notice at the gate, but that is where it ends.
He added that after a meeting, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Energy and the oil company Orlen argued on social media about who had organised it. Murawiec believes responsibility and costs fall on farmers, and that politicians' actions are poorly targeted.
