Bulgaria’s Minister of Agriculture, Yavor Gechev, has acknowledged that he is »working» on a ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, with which Sofia would follow the steps previously taken by the governments of Poland and Hungary.
Bulgarian interests must be preserved, especially because when two countries react in this way, if we do not react in a similar way, the accumulations (of cereals) on Bulgarian territory may be even greater,» Gechev stressed, as reported by the daily »24 Chasa».
The Minister of Agriculture has informed that he has already requested a series of reports to study the legal feasibility of applying this prohibition, and has pointed out that now he is waiting for the decision of the Ministry of Economy, competent for this type of measures.
In addition, Gechev recalled that already in September last year he submitted a request to the European Commission to address this issue, since the withdrawal of customs duties for Ukrainian products was causing losses to Bulgarian producers.
»We have been waiting for the European Commission to decide for six months, it is an issue that has been raised at the highest level. What should we do now – let Bulgarian farmers go bankrupt?», he questioned.
In order to reduce the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, the EU adopted a series of measures aimed at facilitating the import of its agricultural products, which, however, has generated an economic crisis in the sector in countries such as Poland or Bulgaria.
According to the Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture, the losses of Bulgarian farmers amount to 900 million leva -more than 460 million euros-, according to the public broadcaster BNR.
The governments of Hungary and Poland announced on Saturday a ban on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine until June 30 in order to defend the interests of their domestic producers.
While Hungary plans to adopt other solutions for when the final date of the ban arrives, Poland has been »open» to discuss and address the issue after Ukraine proposed a meeting to seek solutions.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
