Along with Hungary and Poland, Romania has formally requested that the European Commission prolongs the ban on duty-free import of grains from Ukraine, which expires on June 5 – just before the harvest of the winter crops, reports Romania Insider.
Romania does indeed want the ban to be prolonged until the end of the year, Minister of Agriculture Petre Daea confirmed, quoted by G4media.ro.
EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said on May 30 it was necessary to extend „at least” until the end of October the restrictions imposed by five EU countries on the import of Ukrainian cereals, despite Kiev’s opposition and resistance from some member states, AFP reported.
On May 2nd, the European Union imposed restrictions on imports of wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine, with the aim of reducing the excess supply of cereals in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. These countries have complained that cheap cereals in Ukraine make local production unprofitable, reports MSN.
Ukrainian agriculture minister Mykola Solsky denounced the restrictions in Brussels on May 30. „We believe that prolonging the restrictions is not the right way, we oppose it”, he said, arguing that the decision would favor Moscow.
