Bucharest says the European Commission will ban Ukrainian grain exports to Romania

UkrAgroConsult

Romanian Minister of Agriculture Petre Dea said that the European Commission will ban the export of Ukrainian grains and oilseeds to Romania by June 5.

This was reported by Reuters.

The European Commission stated that it would take “extraordinary preventive measures” against agricultural products, allowing agricultural products from Ukraine to be imported to five countries only in transit.

The Romanian minister explained that the European Commission’s measures are conditional on states lifting their unilateral bans. If no agreement is reached, the European Commission will move to ban exports to Romania, he said.

Romania is one of the five countries with which the European Commission is in contact to resolve the problem of agricultural imports from Ukraine. A videoconference on this issue on April 23 ended without agreement.

Bucharest did not impose such a ban on its own and wanted to wait for the European Commission’s measures, although it tightened control over the transit of Ukrainian grain and began sealing agricultural products in transit from Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the other four countries-Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Slovakia-unilaterally banned the import of agricultural products originating in or imported from Ukraine.

The countries claimed that the domestic agricultural market was being destabilized by agricultural products from Ukraine that were supposed to be in transit to third countries but often remained in the country. As a result, local farmers are losing their profits as the price of grain is falling.

Slovakia also said it wanted to protect Slovak farms and consumer health. The country has also banned the processing and introduction of Ukrainian grain into the feed and food chain, explaining that it contains a pesticide that is banned in the EU. However, the Czech Republic tested Ukrainian grain and found no violations.

At the same time, Ukraine has agreed with Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria to maintain grain transit.

Further development of the Black Sea and global grain and oilseeds markets will be discussed by UkrAgroConsult analysts and leading agribusiness operators at the EURO GRAIN HUB Exchange & Forum on April 26-28 in Bucharest, Romania.  Join the key stakeholders from the Black Sea region, Central & Eastern Europe and Balkans, contributing to the global commodity supply chain.

Tags: Ukraine, export, grain, Romania, restrictions