Bulgaria has permitted licensed imports of Ukrainian sunflower, rapeseed, corn, and wheat, the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food said in a post on its website on Nov. 30.
Agriculture ministers Kiril Vatev of Bulgaria and Mykola Solskyi of Ukraine agreed on implementing a licensing regime for the export of these agricultural products during an online meeting, finalizing the details of its application, the ministry said.
“The Ministry of Agriculture and Food has fulfilled its promise to limit imports of this agricultural produce to the maximum by Nov. 30, following the memorandum signed between the government and the initiative committee of the protesting farmers,” the Bulgarian ministry quoted Vatev as saying.
Following this period, the two countries will “strictly monitor to ensure that there is no market distortion and that the interests of Bulgarian producers, processors, and consumers are not undermined,” Vatev said.
Import and data exchange between the two countries will continue, the Bulgarian ministry said.
The European Commission reportedly announced on Sep. 15 that it would not extend restrictions on agricultural product imports from Ukraine to neighboring countries (Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia) under certain conditions.
The restrictions, imposed on May 2, affected wheat, rapeseed, sunflower, and corn. These five Eastern European EU member states argued that Ukrainian agricultural products, under duty-free entry into the EU, harmed their local agricultural sectors.
After the restrictions were lifted, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia introduced unilateral bans, expanding the list of prohibited products to include rapeseed press cake and grist, as well as corn bran, wheat flour, and derivatives. Hungary brought this list to 24 positions.
Ukraine filed a WTO lawsuit against Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, alleging discriminatory treatment of its agricultural products.
Current negotiations involve Ukraine seeking the introduction of a mechanism for licensing the export of Ukrainian agricultural products with mandatory verification in each of the five countries.
Bulgaria is considering lifting a ban on sunflower imports from Ukraine introduced in September, with local vegetable oil producers demanding access to supplies of Ukrainian sunflower seeds, the Bulgarian media outlet Agricensus reported on Nov. 23.