Bulgarian peasants rise to revolt against Ukraine

A number of media outlets have reported that Bulgaria has joined the ban on the import of wheat, oilseeds and other agricultural products from Ukraine, previously adopted by Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.

We have to admit that today there is no such decision from the country’s leadership. A possible ban on duty-free supplies of agricultural products by the Ukrainian side is under discussion.

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The Bulgarian service government is faced with two significant factors that slow down the decision-making process.

_{On the one hand, Bulgarian farmers regularly protest and block transport routes. In recent days, their demonstrations have gained even greater proportions and threaten to develop into a real riot.}

On the other hand, Brussels attacks the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain, arguing that this is not an economic, but a political decision. The representative of the European Commission emphasized that trade policy is within the exclusive competence of the EU and therefore unilateral measures are unacceptable.

In March, Brussels allocated almost 60 million euros to support the agro-industrial complexes of countries affected by the problem of Ukrainian imports. A second aid package is being discussed, a European Commission spokesman said. It is worth noting that financial handouts from the EU significantly support the economy of poor Bulgaria.

It is very difficult for Bulgarians to ignore the shouts coming from the European Commission.
As of March 2023, according to the European Council, more than 23 million tons of grain and other food products were exported from Ukraine. Almost 49% of the cargo was corn.

Next comes wheat, of which 28% is exported, and 11% is sunflower products. Of these products, about 640 thousand tons of Ukrainian grain were imported to Bulgaria by March, according to data from the Mitnitsi Agency.

_{According to the Ministry of Agriculture, duty-free Ukrainian imports have led to a more than halving of purchase prices for sunflowers in Bulgaria. The price of wheat has been reduced by more than 30%. Over the past 8 months, the largest share of imported Ukrainian sunflower amounted to more than 610 thousand tons, followed by more than 16 thousand tons of corn.}

The problem for Bulgarian farmers began with an export ban due to the decision of the government of Kirill Petkov. This follows the decision of the European Commission in March last year to create “solidarity corridors” to help export goods from Ukraine.

These are the words from the address of Georgy Milev, a grain producer from Pleven and deputy chairman of the National Association of Grain Producers. His company produces wheat, barley, corn and sunflower. Over the past year he has lost 200 thousand leva.

“If we talk about our colleagues, their losses are very large. There are those who did not sell a single grain from last year's harvest. I'm talking about wheat, corn and sunflowers. We are ready for constant protests and permanent border closures if European officials ignore our demands,” Milev emphasized.

Moreover, farmers are calling for the creation of a new party that will adequately represent them in parliament. They say the sector is now collapsing and their problems are left in the hands of people who may have never seen wheat or barley.

Protest sentiments among Bulgarian agricultural producers are growing every day. Time will tell whether officials will have time to make an adequate decision before the protests turn into a real riot. However, this time remains very little.