The Bulgarian government decided this Wednesday to lift the ban on grain imports from Ukraine, introduced on April 19, following measures taken by the European Commission (EC).
“The lifting of the embargo is the result of a pan-European solution to the problem,” the Bulgarian leader stressed in a statement quoted by the Efe news agency.
On Tuesday, the EU adopted “exceptional and temporary preventive measures” on imports of four Ukrainian commodities – wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds – to help Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary.
Under these measures, Ukrainian imports will only enter these five countries if they pass through their territories for export to other member states or to countries outside the European body.
The agricultural sector of these five European Union (EU) countries has been hit by increased imports of much cheaper agricultural products from Ukraine, prompting protests from farm workers.
According to the BNR public radio, Bulgaria will receive 9.77 million euros of the 100 million allocated to compensate the five countries most affected by Ukrainian imports.
Earlier, Bulgaria received 16.75 million euros from the first aid package.
Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have agreed to lift their unilateral bans once the EU measures come into effect.
The Commission responsible for EU trade policy has indicated that it may extend restrictions on grain imports beyond June 5.
In May 2022, the EU suspended customs duties for one year on all goods imported from Ukraine and worked to allow the export of its grain “stocks” following the closure of Black Sea routes following the invasion of Russia in February 2022.
In neighboring EU countries, there is a significant increase in the supply of corn, wheat or sunflower from Ukraine, which has led to saturation of stocks and a fall in local prices.
Therefore, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria in mid-April banned the import of grains and other agricultural products from Ukraine, saying they want to protect their farmers, which led to a confrontation with the EU.
On Friday, the EU reached an agreement with Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia, which agreed to use their territories as corridors for the export of four types of Ukrainian grains and cereals, but refused to sell these products to their countries.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry considered restrictions on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products “unacceptable” after the promulgation of the EU agreement with these countries.