Romania’s Minister of Agriculture Florin Barbu has asked that the European Commission step in on Ukrainian imports of eggs and poultry meat.
“The European Commission needs to step in on Ukrainian imports of eggs and poultry meat, taking into account the fact that our farmers have to meet certain conditions when poultry farming, which entail much higher costs than those incurred on farmers from outside the European Union. We are waiting for a quick decision from the European Commission, but I am telling farmers that we are ready to apply the import licensing mechanism, which we have already successfully applied in the case of imports of cereals, sugar and flour”, he specified in a press release.
This comes after Romanian poultry farmers demanded a ban imports of poultry products from Ukraine.
Barbu has been supporting Bulgaria’s proposal to ban the import of eggs from Ukraine since an AgriFish Council meeting on September 23, and has already asked the European Commission protect European farmers from the dumping practices from Ukraine.
He added that Bucharest expects quick decisions from Brussels but is ready to use the import licensing mechanism, “which we have successfully applied in the case of grain, sugar and flour imports”, if necessary.
The EU lifted restrictions on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine after it was invaded by Russia. But in the spring of 2024, the EU created a safeguard mechanism to limit free trade if it threatens European producers.
It was implemented in June for the import of Ukrainian oats and was later expanded to include eggs, sugar, and honey.
Meanwhile, Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture and Food, Georgi Tahov, announced that Bulgaria has formally requested the European Commission (EC) to activate a safeguard mechanism to protect Bulgarian egg producers, after the influx of Ukrainian eggs showed negative market trends.
The safeguard mechanism proposed by Bulgaria involves the activation of a tariff quota. This means that imports of eggs from Ukraine would be subject to a duty once they exceed a certain quantity – a measure is intended to mitigate the adverse effects on the Bulgarian egg market and ensure fair competition for local producers.
The European Commission’s assessment is expected to be completed within four months.
Transylvania International Spoken Word Festival happening in Cluj
