Romanian and Ukrainian Agriculture Ministers Florin Barbu and Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food Nikolai Solsky have agreed on a new strict mechanism that will allow four types of grain to be imported to Romania again. The new system will require Ukrainian and Romanian farmers to obtain licenses, the Romanian newspaper Europa Libera Romania reported.
“Export licenses for Ukrainian companies will start in 30 days. During this time, Romania will also create a clear import licensing procedure for Romanian farmers and processors,” the publication quoted a Romanian minister as saying.
Another agreed rule is that imports are carried out only by farmers and processors, not by intermediaries, the sources say.
“A farmer who wants to import, for example, 1,000 tons of sunflower seeds from Ukraine must prove that he does not have that amount and that his animals cannot live without it,” a source close to the talks between the ministers explained to the newspaper.
Romanian authorities will check the stocks of farmers who ask to import grain from Ukraine.
Another condition is obtaining a quality certificate. The farmer will have to take a sample of the imported goods to the National Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA), where he will receive a certificate stating that the goods are of high quality and do not contain banned pesticides.
The licensing system for grain exporters/importers will be introduced within 30 days.
Barbu said that Kyiv will coordinate Ukraine’s proposal to license exporters with each of the five European countries that have banned imports of Ukrainian wheat, corn, sunflower and rapeseed since May.
As reported, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine held talks with the relevant ministries of Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria, which are studying the Ukrainian action plan and preparing comments on it. Next week, the next stage of Ukraine’s negotiations with neighboring countries will take place.
The Cabinet of Ministers has abolished the import duty on acetic acid, Taras Melnychuk, the Cabinet’s representative in the Verkhovna Rada, said on Telegram.
The corresponding draft law “On Amendments to the Customs Tariff of Ukraine, established by the Law of Ukraine “On the Customs Tariff of Ukraine”, regarding the change in the duty rate on acetic acid” was approved at a government meeting on Tuesday.
“The draft law proposes to establish a zero import duty on acetic acid, which is a raw material for ethyl acetate production, to create conditions for the functioning of domestic ethyl acetate production,” Melnychuk said.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said he does not intend to allow Ukrainian grain to enter the country’s domestic market, Politico reported on Tuesday.
“Croatia’s position and desire is that we are a transit country, not a country that will receive a huge amount of Ukrainian grain, which is cheaper than ours,” Plenkovic said.
According to him, imports of such products would lead to the fact that “our farmers would be in trouble.”
On September 15, the European Commission announced the termination of restrictive measures on the export of Ukrainian grain and other food products to the EU. Later, the authorities of Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia announced their own bans.
Rumanian Prime Minister Marchel Ciolaku will ask the country’s agriculture and economy ministers to approve a joint resolution to extend the ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products for 30 days, RFI quoted the head of the Rumanian government as saying.
Ciolacu said that he expects a proposal from Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Schmigal on the licensing of grain exports, which will be discussed.
He added that after the European Commission’s decision not to extend the ban on Ukrainian agricultural products, “not a single kilogram of wheat has been imported to Romania from Ukraine.”
“If there are requests for exports to Romania, I will definitely ask the Minister of Agrarian Policy and the Minister of Economy to adopt a joint order that for 30 days, until everything is clarified, the restrictions will be extended. I repeat: there are no requests, and I want to assure the agrarians that it will not be like a year ago,” assured Ciolacu.
As reported, the European Commission announced on September 15 that it would not extend restrictions on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine with some conditions to avoid a new grain surge.
On May 2, the EC imposed a temporary restriction on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, in particular wheat, rapeseed, sunflower and corn, to five EU member states – Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Those argued that Ukrainian grain was hitting their market and hurting farmers. On June 5, the restrictive measures were prolonged until September 15.
After the restrictions on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products were lifted, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia introduced unilateral bans. Poland expanded the list of products banned for import by adding flour and cereals. Hungary brought the list to 25 items.
The Slovak government has decided to extend the ban on imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine until the end of the year, Prime Minister Ludovit Odor said.
“The European Commission did not extend the ban on imports of four commodities from Ukraine, including wheat, after September 15, so the government decided to ban their imports at the national level. And this is until the end of the year and for the same four products, i.e. wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds. We must prevent excessive pressure on the Slovak market to remain fair to domestic farmers,” Odor said, according to Aktuality.
According to him, this step of the government is also a reaction to a similar approach of Poland and Hungary. Odor emphasized that the Slovak government will continue to work intensively with the European Commission and EU member states to find a pan-European and systemic solution while the national ban on imports of these four products is in effect. He stated the government’s readiness to lift the ban in this case.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Slovakia added that this decision is related to the protection of the domestic market and is a logical response to the practice of neighboring countries that adopt unilateral import bans.
“The ban does not apply to the transportation of goods through our territory, which expresses our solidarity with Ukraine and the placement of its goods in target markets,” the ministry added.
On Sunday, the European Commission called on Poland, Hungary and Slovakia to be constructive after they unilaterally announced that they would extend the ban on grain imports from Ukraine despite the Commission’s decision to end the ban, Reuters reports, citing a European Commission spokesman.
“We are aware of statements by some member states regarding unilateral measures. It is now important that all countries work in a spirit of compromise and engage in constructive cooperation,” the Commission spokeswoman said.
According to her, Brussels is now focused on “putting in place and making work the new system that has just been announced.”
In particular, Reuters reports that a meeting with representatives of all interested EU countries will be held on Monday to discuss the issue of Ukrainian grain imports in more detail.
The news agency notes that Ukraine was one of the world’s leading grain exporters before Russia’s invasion in 2022 reduced its ability to deliver agricultural products to world markets through Black Sea ports. Since then, Ukrainian farmers have relied on grain exports through neighboring countries.
However, the influx of grains and oilseeds to neighboring countries has affected the incomes of local farmers and led governments to ban imports of agricultural products from Ukraine.
As reported, the ban on the export of wheat, barley, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, introduced on May 2 for the period until June 5, was extended until September 15.
On Friday, September 15, the EU allowed the ban to be lifted after Ukraine promised to take measures to tighten export controls to neighboring countries.
