The Romanian government has extended the requirement to license Ukrainian agricultural products until December 31, 2025 in order to “protect local farmers”. informs Euractiv.
Romanian Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu called on national processors to buy raw materials from Romanian farmers to support domestic agro-production.
The Ministry of Agriculture explained that the regulation applies to all participants in the agri-food chain – producers, processors and traders – and is of key importance for supporting vulnerable sections of the population in accordance with the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
It will be recalled that after the European Commission decided in September 2023 not to extend the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain in five EU countries, in October of the same year, Romania introduced licensing for the import of grain and oil crops from Ukraine and Moldova. In October 2024, Bucharest expanded the list of Ukrainian goods requiring a license, responding to appeals from Romanian farmers who complained about the low prices of Ukrainian products.
According to the adopted decision, it is allowed to import agricultural products from Ukraine or Moldova only to Romanian companies engaged in oil and fat production, flour milling, animal feed production or animal husbandry.
