Romania has approved the conditions for importing grain from Ukraine. This was reported by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Florin Barbu on October 13.
The mechanism was agreed with Ukraine. It protects Romanian farmers from importing grain from Ukraine. Therefore, Romania allows the import of wheat, corn, sunflower and soybeans only on the basis of a marketing agreement, which must be issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Thus, grain imports will only be possible for Romanian farmers and processors who document that they need grain to replenish stocks.
That is, the mechanism is as follows: Romanian farmers and processors who wish to replenish stocks submit documents confirming the need for imports. The commission checks the documents and suggests whether or not to put the contract on the market. Then the body that checks product quality checks the grain for safety and issues the appropriate certificate. After that, the Ministry of Agriculture issues an agreement to the farmer or processor for the supply of the required amount of grain. The marketing agreement expires when the required amount of imports is reached.
Romania emphasizes that this mechanism was agreed with both Ukraine and Romanian farmers.
And what is the issue?
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.
On May 2 and until September 15, 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, there was a transit of Ukrainian products through their territory.
European countries do not plan to abandon the embargo on the import of Ukrainian grain. Kyiv is trying to negotiate with them, the parties are looking for compromises.
- On October 10, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced during his visit to Romania that a new "grain corridor" through Moldova to Romania will soon be operational. The parties also agreed to double transit through Romanian ports to 4 million tons of Ukrainian agricultural products.
- The most promising destinations for the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products are currently Romania, Moldova and Poland. Romania expects funds from the European Commission, which it plans to spend on infrastructure development on its territory.