Romanian agriculture minister to request Ukrainian grain ban extension until end of year

Florin Barbu, the Minister-designate for the portfolio of Agriculture and Rural Development, will ask the EU Commission to extend the restrictions on grain imports from Ukraine until the end of the year, he announced on Wednesday.

”The ban is until 15 September. I will have a discussion with my colleagues from other countries and we will ask for an extension until 31 December. In addition to the rapeseed, wheat, corn, sunseed, I will try to introduce up to 10 products,” said Barbu during the hearing in parliament.

Honey and meat could be included on the list of import bans, but also “other Romanian priorities, so that Romanian farmers can sell the local products”.

On 2 May, the EU Commission adopted exceptional and temporary preventive measures on imports of a limited number of products from Ukraine. Given the exceptional circumstances of serious logistical bottlenecks experienced in five member states, these measures have been necessary.

The measures concern four agricultural products – wheat, maise, rapeseed and sunflower seed – originating in Ukraine.

The EC said they aim to alleviate logistical bottlenecks concerning these products in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

On 5 June, the EU Commission extended the bans until 15 September.

The move by a handful of EU countries to impose bans on Ukrainian grain exports risks playing into Russia’s hands, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna told EURACTIV at the end of April.

“The flow of Ukrainian agro-export is a matter of survival for the Ukrainian economy, heavily impacted by the full-scale Russian war of aggression – so, our common priority should be an extension of the suspension of import duties, quotas, and trade defence measures on Ukrainian exports to the EU,” she added.

Tags: export, grain, Romania, Meat, restrictions, honey