Ukraine and Bulgaria reach deal allowing grain exports

Ukraine and Bulgaria have finalized an agreement on a licensing system to facilitate the export of Ukrainian agricultural goods, the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture has announced. The deal establishes regulations for shipping sunflower, rapeseed, corn and wheat seeds abroad.

The agreement was reacehd during an online meeting between Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture Kiril Vatev and his Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Solskyi.

"The Ministry of Agriculture and Food kept its promise to limit the import of these agricultural products as much as possible until November 30, according to the memorandum concluded between the government and the Initiative Committee of Farmer Protesters," Vatev said.

He emphasized that after the end of this period, Ukraine and Bulgaria "will strictly monitor that there are no market distortions and that the interests of Bulgarian producers, processors and consumers are not undermined."

The countries further agreed to continue importing and sharing data.

After the Bulgarian parliament supported the lifting of the ban on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products after its expiration at the EU level, farmers and owners of processing enterprises took to the roads in protest. Under pressure from farmers, the Bulgarian authorities agreed to reinstate some restrictions on the import of agricultural products from Ukraine.