The Ukrainian government changed the rules for exporting agricultural products to the nearest EU countries

Author:
Oleksandra Opanasenko
Date:

Ukrainian entrepreneurs will be deprived of verification for six months for violating the rules of exporting agricultural products to Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary or Poland.

This was reported by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.

The government adopted a resolution that improved the rules for the export of certain types of agricultural products. From now on, the enterprise can be excluded from the list of verified subjects of the agro-industrial complex, if information is received from Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary or Poland that the products loaded for transit actually remained on their territory.

For example, if, according to the documents, the sunflower went to Greece, but it was sold in Bulgaria, then the entrepreneur will be deprived of verification. He or she will be able to re-submit an application for inclusion in the list of verified subjects no earlier than six months after exclusion.

Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture and Food Kiril Vatev supported the decision of the Ukrainian government, noting that it will promote effective cooperation between the countries.

And what is the problem?

After the start of the full-scale war, the European Union canceled all tariffs and quotas for the transit of Ukrainian grain. Farmers from Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia lost hundreds of millions of euros due to the influx of Ukrainian grain into their markets. Then countries began to ban the import of Ukrainian grain, and the European Commission allocated funds to European farmers.

From May 2 until September 15, 2023, the European Commission officially banned the import of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. At the same time, the transit of Ukrainian products through their territory remained.

Recently, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary demanded that the European Union impose import duties on grain from Ukraine. The European Commission refused them, but can offer additional guarantees regarding the restriction of Ukrainian food exports.