Ukraine simplifies rules for shipping sunflower seeds to Bulgaria

MOSCOW. Feb 5 (Interfax) - Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has simplified conditions for exporting sunflower seeds to Bulgaria, Ukrainian media reported, citing the Ukrainian government's website.

The decision was made at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on February 2, an announcement on the site said.

"Recently, the Republic of Bulgaria agreed to liberalize licensing for the export of one of these agricultural goods, namely sunflower seeds. Now obtaining licenses to export sunflower seeds to Bulgaria will not require the approval of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, nor will it require separate consultations with the importing country," Deputy Economy Minister of Ukraine - Trade Representative Taras Kachka said.

This should simplify the export of similar Ukrainian products, he said.

Previously, in order to unblock Ukrainian agricultural product exports to neighboring EU countries, the government introduced a rule on obtaining verification and approval (licensing) for the export of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower to Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.

The duty-free trade regime between Ukraine and the EU, introduced in 2022, in the context of the reorientation of a significant part of Ukrainian agricultural exports to Europe, led to cheap food from Ukraine making its way to neighboring countries. This sparked protests from local farmers. The greatest damage was caused to the agricultural sectors of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.

Under pressure from these countries, the European Commission was forced to take special measures in May 2023, banning the import of Ukrainian food into these states (specifically, wheat, rapeseed, sunflower and corn). After the ban ceased to apply in mid-September, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland introduced prohibitive measures at the national level against the will of the European Commission. Moreover, Poland expanded the list of products prohibited for import to include rapeseed cake and meal, as well as corn bran, wheat flour and derivative products. Hungary increased its own list 24 items. Kiev responded by filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO). Currently, WTO proceedings are suspended in anticipation of negotiations with the participation of the European Commission.