Romania, following Bulgaria, tries to ban imports of Ukrainian eggs and poultry meat

Romanian Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu has asked the European Commission to ban imports of poultry products from Ukraine. He says he has taken this action at the request of Romanian producers.

As Romania's Agriculture Ministry, reported that Barbu had endorsed Bulgaria's proposal to ban egg imports from Ukraine during the EU Council meeting on 23 September this year and had called on the European Commission to protect European farmers from the alleged dumping practices by Ukraine.

"There is a need for the European Commission to intervene on Ukrainian imports of eggs and poultry meat, given that our farmers are subject to certain conditions for poultry farming that entail much higher costs than those of farmers outside the European Union," the Romanian minister said.

He added that Bucharest expects quick decisions from Brussels but is ready to use the import licensing mechanism, "which we have successfully applied in the case of grain, sugar and flour imports", if necessary.

The EU lifted restrictions on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine after the full-scale Russian invasion.

However, during its latest extension in the spring of 2024, the EU created a safeguard mechanism to limit free trade if it threatens European producers.

This mechanism was first implemented in June for the import of Ukrainian oats and was later expanded to include eggs, sugar, and honey.