Romanian farmers propose to involve Ukrainian agricultural products, Kiev grain is "named" again

Recently, Romanian farmers have asked the government to support solutions at the European Union (EU) level - which can protect farmers from the impact of importing agricultural products from Ukraine.

Nông dân Romania yêu cầu chính phủ hạn chế nhập khẩu nông sản Ukraine

Romanian farmers ask the government to limit imports of Ukrainian agricultural products. (Source: AFP)

In a letter sent by the Agricultural Union - the umbrella body of several farmers' associations - to President Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Florin Varbu, Romanian farmers expressed their desire for a solution at the EU level to ensure "the survival of European farmers".

The letter proposes setting up a system to ensure that the destination of Ukrainian agricultural products is determined before entering the EU (for example, for import or transit), the goods are weighed, the data is entered into an electronic system and “available to all interested parties”.

Romanian farmers expect such a system to be in place by April 30.

The association also set import ceilings for agricultural products based on annual or quarterly averages for the 2021-2022 period.

Romanian farmers also demand that Brussels be notified and that “safeguard” measures be automatically applied at national level if violations of the rules by the owners of imported agricultural products or their transport staff are detected in any EU member state.

Previously, on January 15, the Agriculture Ministers of Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia sent a letter to the EC requesting import taxes on Ukrainian grain to protect the markets of these countries.

The agriculture ministers of the five countries said that Ukraine's larger farm size would allow the country to export grain at cheaper prices and would push EU farmers out of traditional export markets.

Farmers in Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia have suffered significant losses since the EU suspended import quotas and customs on Kiev grain in 2023, according to the ministers.

Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia became alternative grain transit routes for Ukraine after Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine in 2022.

Farmers in the five countries have protested against the transport, saying the routes are destroying domestic markets.

Source