Bulgaria denies simplification of the licensing regime for Ukrainian sunseed

Minister of Agriculture and Food Kyrylo Vatiev has sent a letter to First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko opposing the Ukrainian government’s decision to simplify the export of sunflower seeds to Bulgaria. This was reported by BTA.

Information about the decision was published on February 2, 2024 on the website of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine. The information says that Bulgaria has agreed to simplify the licensing regime for exports of these products from Ukraine.

Vatiev said that there were no negotiations with Bulgaria on any liberalization and simplification of the licensing regime for imports of sunflower seeds from Ukraine to Bulgaria.

“As the Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Bulgaria, I am working to protect the interests of the Bulgarian agricultural sector and do my best to prevent market distortion,” wrote Minister Vatev.

He expressed concern that since the beginning of the practical application of the license regime from December 4, 2023 to January 21, 2024, 37.9 thousand tons of sunflower oil were imported from Ukraine to Bulgaria without any approval and without any request for a license.

Earlier, in order to unblock Ukraine’s agricultural exports through neighboring EU countries, the government introduced verification and approval of exports of certain agricultural products to Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland. In particular, the government introduced a licensing regime for exports of such goods as wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower to these five EU countries.

Tags: Bulgaria, export, sunseed, restrictions, Ukraine