site.btaAgriculture Minister Objects against Simplification of Sunflower Seed Export to Bulgaria in Letter to Ukrainian Economy Minister

Minister of Agriculture and Food Kiril Vatev sent a letter to the First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Yulia Svyrydenko, objecting against the decision of the Ukrainian government to simplify the export of sunflower seeds to Bulgaria, said the line ministry on Monday.

Information about the decision was published on February 2, 2024 on the website of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine. The information states that the Republic of Bulgaria has agreed to liberalize the licensing regime for the export of this product from Ukraine.

Minister Vatev was adamant that there have been no talks with the Republic of Bulgaria about any liberalization and simplification of the licensing regime for the import of sunflower seeds from Ukraine into Bulgaria.

"In my capacity as Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Bulgaria, I work to protect the interests of the Bulgarian agricultural sector and do everything possible to prevent distortion of the market," Minister Vatev wrote.

He noted that he appreciates the efforts of the Ukrainian government and welcomes the adopted Decision No. 87 of the Council of Ministers of Ukraine dated January 26, 2024, which provides that Ukrainian companies that export without a license to the Republic of Bulgaria will be excluded from the list of verified exporters and will not be able to export not only for the Republic of Bulgaria, but also for third countries for 6 months.

Vatev expressed concern that from the beginning of the practical application of the license regime, December 4, 2023, until January 21, 2024, 37,934 tonnes of black sunflower oil  were imported into Bulgaria from of Ukraine without approval and without any request for the issuance of licenses, according to the information from the Customs Agency.

In this regard, the Minister insisted that the issuance of licenses to Ukrainian companies for the export to the Republic of Bulgaria of goods classified by codes according to CN 1001 99 00 (wheat), 1005 90 00 (maize), 1206 00 91 (sunflower seed), 1206 00 99 (sunflower seed), 1205 10 90 (rapeseed), 1205 90 00 (rapeseed) be preserved by taking, if necessary, the measures laid down in Decision No. 87 of the Council of Ministers of Ukraine of January 26, 2024. 
A copy of the letter was also sent to the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi.