Bulgaria's Agriculture Minister urges EC to speed up the procedure for activating the agricultural reserve

In a letter addressed to the European commissioner for agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski , Bulgaria’s Minister of Agriculture Yavor Gechev urges the European Commission to speed up the procedure for activating the agricultural reserve with the aim of helping the countries close to the border with Ukraine that have been affected most.

The letter was occasioned by the difficulties Bulgarian producers are facing as a result of excessive imports from Ukraine. There are worrisome amounts of grain kept at warehouses in the country which cannot be sold, the letter reads.

"Bulgaria stands in solidarity with Ukraine… but that does not mean putting the competitiveness of the European agricultural producers at risk," Minister Gechev notes in the letter.

Bulgaria’s caretaker Minister of Agriculture, Yavor Gechev, called on the European Commission to help producers affected by the increased imports from Ukraine. In a letter to the European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski and the Director General of DG Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission Wolfgang Burtscher, minister Gechev urges the EC to speed up the procedure for activate the agricultural reserve.

"I call for acceleration of the decision-making procedure for activation of the agricultural reserve in order to support the sectors most affected by increased imports, especially in the countries close to the border with Ukraine," the letter said, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

The reason for this is the difficulties faced by Bulgarian producers as a result of excessive imports from Ukraine.

"Bulgaria stands in solidarity with Ukraine and shares the need for unhindered supply of agricultural and other products to ensure global food security, but this should not put the competitiveness of European agricultural producers at risk," Minister Gechev added.

In the letter, the Bulgarian Agriculture Minister draws attention to the fact that the most serious disturbances are observed in the oilseed sunflower market, with intensive imports from Ukraine continuing in 2023.

The quantities of grain stored in warehouses in the country, with no outlets and no trade, are also cited as worrying, with a serious drop in farm-gate prices.

"Against the backdrop of increased costs for seeds, fertilizers, crop protection products, diesel, etc., the economic sustainability of sunflower farmers is deteriorating. The lack of fresh income from grain sales, rising storage costs and limited storage possibilities lead to uncertainty and are a very serious challenge for a normal start of the spring campaign," Yavor Gechev points out.

In the letter to the Commissioner for Agriculture and the Director General of DG Agriculture and Rural Development, the caretaker Agriculture Minister informed that strike actions are already taking place in the country by Bulgarian producers who are demanding that imports of oilseeds and cereals from Ukraine be limited, which is literally putting the sector in collapse, as they are forced to sell their produce at rock-bottom price because of it.

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