Companies breaching grain export rules to lose access to verification for 6 months - Ukrainian minister

MOSCOW. Jan 29 (Interfax) - Entrepreneurs will be stripped of access to verification for six months for violating the rules for exporting agricultural products to some European Union countries, Ukrainian media outlets said, citing Agrarian Policy and Food Minister Nikolai Solsky's remarks circulated by the ministry's press service on social media.

Solsky told Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture and Food Kiril Vatev during an online meeting that the Ukrainian government adopted a resolution adjusting the rules for the export of certain types of agricultural products in order to prevent abuses, the press service said.

"From now on, an enterprise may be excluded from the list of verified agricultural entities if Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary or Poland provide information that the products loaded for transit through these countries have actually remained in one of these countries," Solsky said.

If the sunflower, according to its documents, was bound for Greece, but was sold in Bulgaria, the entrepreneur will be excluded from the list of verified agricultural entities, the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry said. It will be possible to re-apply for inclusion in the list of verified entities no earlier than six months after being removed from it.

Vatev, for his part, supported the Ukrainian government's decision, adding that it would contribute to efficient cooperation between countries. The ministers agreed to monitor carriers' compliance with the rules and to control the transportation of agricultural products to Bulgaria.