Bulgaria will temporarily cease the Import of some Ukrainian Products

Bulgaria imposes a temporary ban on food imports from Ukraine, with the exception of goods in transit. This was announced by acting Prime Minister Galab Donev at the beginning of today's government meeting. He recalled that significant quantities of Ukrainian food remained in Bulgaria.

"The main reason is that in the last year, contrary to the idea of the so-called corridors of solidarity, significant volumes of food remained in the country and disrupted the main production and trade chains. If this trend persists and even increases, which is completely real after the introduced similar bans from other countries, it is possible to reach extremely serious consequences for Bulgarian business", Donev explained.

"As a government that works and solves the problems of Bulgarian citizens, we cannot allow this to happen. We are forced to adopt this national measure, as the responsible European authorities are still considering an adequate response to the changed circumstances that led to the corridors of solidarity", the caretaker prime minister argued the proposal.

Galab Donev also pointed out that Bulgaria relies on "Brussels hearing and understanding the positions" of the member states Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia and rethinking its position.

“Bulgaria remains in solidarity with Ukraine, but the bankruptcies of Bulgarian agricultural producers will contribute nothing to its cause," the caretaker Prime Minister also said.

At the session of the Council of Ministers, a decision was considered and adopted, which temporarily limits the access of a number of products originating in Ukraine to the territory of Bulgaria, said the Minister of Agriculture Yavor Gechevat at a briefing in the Council of Ministers.

The decision will take effect from April 24 and will last until June 30, 2023.

"Bulgaria practically followed the example of three other countries, with concerns: firstly, our market is really saturated enough with crops, we have a production worth several billions, which we believe that if we do not take additional measures, it will be difficult to realize it on the market and we are suffering serious losses. Our second argument is that the already stopped corridors from a number of European countries will be re-directed to the corridor that is through Romania and then through Bulgaria. The Bulgarian government is reacting according to the information and powers it has. In addition, there are serious concerns from neighboring countries regarding the phytosanitary qualities of a number of the products. You know that some of the countries have destroyed production, there have positive tests for preparations not authorized in the EU. This decision was made on this basis," said Yavor Gechev.

This decision excludes the transit of goods to third countries.

"Corridors of solidarity must continue to be implemented," said the Minister of Agriculture.

"We believe that a sustainable solution is a pan-European solution to the problem. This is an extreme measure today, but we were forced because several countries took unilateral measures and the risk for Bulgaria increased seriously. The experts analyzed the measures. Our support for Ukraine continues. Today we will have a meeting with the European Commission. There is a more serious understanding on their part of how important this problem is for us. 16% of the employed Bulgarians are in agriculture, this is over 7 billion leva in production. We cannot allow Bulgarian producers to be affected in this way. We will continue the dialogue with the EC. We guarantee the transit through the territory of Bulgaria. We expect a permanent decision from the EC, guaranteeing that these are corridors of solidarity, and not that the production remains in the countries that are close to the conflict," said the Minister of Economy Nikola Stoyanov.

Nearly 20 goods from Ukraine, including grain, will not be allowed in Bulgaria in the next two months

For the period from April 24 to June 30, 2023, a certain number of goods originating from Ukraine will not be allowed on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. This was decided by the Council of Ministers at its meeting today.

The ban applies to more than 20 goods:

Soft and durum wheat, wheat flour, sunflower seeds, sunflower oil, corn, honey and bee products, raw milk, dry milk, milk concentrate, walnuts, hazelnuts, eggs, poultry, pork, sheep and goat meat, rye, barley, oats, sorghum, buckwheat, starches, inulin, wheat gluten, soy, linseed, rapeseed, wine, wine vinegar, ethyl alcohol.

The ban will not be applied to goods in transit through the territory of Bulgaria, in case the lots are in specialized means of transport, sealed and sealed at the border, without allowing their unloading and reloading on the territory of our country. The prohibition does not apply even if the declaration accompanying the shipment declares that the final destination of the cargo is not the Republic of Bulgaria.

The government decision takes into account the need to ensure the transit through solidarity corridors of vital food supplies for the people that most need it in third countries.

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