site.btaMinister Georgi Tahov to Join Regional Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting in Budapest

Bulgaria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Georgi Tahov will participate in a meeting of agriculture ministers from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania, taking place on Wednesday in Budapest, the Agriculture Ministry said.

The meeting is held in the context of the recently reached political agreement between thed European Commission and Ukraine on the review of the bilateral Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) agreement. The ministers will also discuss a joint declaration on agricultural aspects related to the agreement.

According to quotas announced on July 4, the European Union will reduce wheat and sugar imports from Ukraine by up to 80% in response to concerns raised by European farmers. This is likely to push Kyiv to increase exports to markets in Asia and Africa.

As a sign of solidarity following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU exempted Ukrainian goods from import tariffs into the community.

Due to protests from European farmers against imports of Ukrainian grain, sugar, and poultry, Brussels has taken steps to reintroduce quotas.

The quotas announced on July 4 are higher than those in the original DCFTA agreement between the EU and Ukraine, which has been in effect since 2016, but significantly lower than the volumes of duty-free imports allowed by the EU over the past three years.