site.btaAgriculture Minister Urges Brussels to Pay Special Attention to Sunflower Market

Bulgaria expects the European Commission to pay special attention to the situation on the oil bearing crops market and to use all available leverage, including emergency measures in accordance with Article 29 of Regulation (EU) No. 1308/2013, to mitigate the effects of the Ukraine war, Bulgarian Agriculture Minister Yavor Gechev told the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels, as quoted by his ministry on Tuesday.

Gechev added that Bulgaria supports Ukraine in these difficult times, but there are disruptions on the sunflower market which are a cause for concern. He called for fast steps to repair the market imbalance and avert even more serious economic shocks which can have a lasting impact on the sunflower market as they can undermine farmers' competitiveness and resilience.

Concerning the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes, Bulgaria vows to do everything to facilitate the transport of Ukrainian wheat to third countries by making its roads, railways and ports available for the purpose, he said.

Gechev briefed his EU counterparts on the current situation on the Bulgarian cereal market. The question of sustainable use of plant protection products was also raised during the meeting.

The EU agriculture ministers further discussed the Industrial Emissions Directive. Gechev warned that lowering the threshold for including pig and poultry breeding installations in the scope of the directive and adding cattle breeding installations to it will put considerable financial strain on many farmers. Such an approach involves the inclusion of many family farms which do not have the capacity of industrial livestock breeders and may face bankruptcy. This will have grave social, economic and financial consequences and will directly affect the security of food supplies, Gechev said.