Romania has expanded the list of goods imported from Ukraine that require a license to enter the country to include eggs and poultry meat, Euractiv.ro reported, citing information from the Romanian government. The publication reminded that Romanian poultry producers faced a “serious problem” due to the import of eggs and poultry meat from Ukraine, which are sold at prices significantly lower than the cost of production in Romania.
According to the Minister of Agriculture Florin Barbu, after discussions with representatives of the poultry industry, the government decided to add eggs and poultry meat to the list of products that can be imported from Ukraine only with a license. The list also includes cereals, seeds, flour and sugar.
“It is our duty to protect Romanian production,” Barbu said.
In addition, he reminded that Romania, as a member of the European Union, must comply with certain production requirements in the poultry sector, which is why Romanian poultry farmers have “30% higher costs than in Ukraine.”
Barbu also emphasized that there is no ban on imports of Ukrainian eggs and poultry meat.
“We have made this decision on licensing to ensure that when the food industry needs these products and Romania is not completely self-sufficient, only Romanian processors will be able to import them under license,” he added.
After the European Commission decided not to extend the ban on imports of Ukrainian grain to five neighboring EU countries (Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary) in September 2023, Romania introduced import licenses for grains and oilseeds from Ukraine and Moldova. This measure, introduced in October last year, was extended.
According to this decision, only Romanian companies engaged in the production of oil and fat products, flour milling, animal feed production and livestock farming are entitled to import agricultural products from Ukraine and Moldova.
