W. Europe to Start Giving Food Products to Poland

The European Community said today that it will make its first delivery of beef to Poland in the next few weeks as part of a $120-million package of emergency food aid.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the 12-nation trading bloc, said 10,000 tons of beef will be drawn from storage in West Germany and sent to Poland by Oct. 8.

The commission said officials will soon decide the dates for delivery of the first shipment of cereals, which will include 200,000 tons of wheat stored in Germany, 75,000 tons of barley in France and 25,000 tons of barley in Belgium.

Another 200,000 tons of barley and 300,000 tons of wheat will be sent later.

The food aid is part of a package of meat, olive oil, citrus fruits and cereals that the agriculture ministers of the 12 community nations agreed last month to give Poland, which has been hit hard by shortages.

The community is sending the food free to Poland on the condition that the government sell it and use the money to improve the economy, especially the private farm sector. The Polish government has agreed to set up a counterpart fund, which is often used in development programs, to handle the money.

European Community and Polish officials will administer the fund jointly, according to a letter initialed by the two sides earlier this month.

President Bush and leaders of other rich democracies, holding their annual summit last month in Paris, asked the community to coordinate economic aid for Poland and Hungary. They also urged emergency food shipments for Poland.

Western nations want to encourage the drive in Eastern Europe for more open political and market-oriented economic systems.

Officials of two dozen Western nations met in Brussels on Aug. 1 to consider at how they can help Poland and Hungary.

At the meeting, the United States pledged to remove $50 million in food from its surplus stocks for Poland, on top of $9 million in food earmarked earlier. Austria and Switzerland also promised food aid.

Polish President Wojciech Jaruzelski sent a letter last month to community officials asking for 685,000 tons of beef, pork, powdered milk, butter, oils, wheat, corn, rice and sugar in the next few months.

He said Poland would need at least 3.7 million tons of food next year and again in 1991. He also asked for 250,000 tons of feed for animals and at least $220 million worth of pesticides and similar products in 1990.