Moldovan farmers are calling on the government to urgently introduce a stable and sustainable mechanism to limit imports of grain and oilseeds from Ukraine, similar to those in Romania and Bulgaria, farmers' association Power of Farmers said in a statement.
The association recalled that on October 4, 2023, at the insistence of farmers, the Emergency Situations Commission introduced a licensing system for the import of cereals and oilseeds for the duration of the state of emergency. Although this measure was implemented very late, it has stopped the price decline in the domestic market, and the rise in prices of wheat, corn and sunflower has slowed in the last two months.
“The authorities recently announced that the state of emergency will be lifted on January 1, 2024, which means that all decisions of the European Commission will be automatically canceled, including the decision of October 4, 2023... The Farmers' Power Association demands that the "The government should urgently introduce a stable and sustainable mechanism to limit imports of grains and oilseeds, similar to those in Romania and Bulgaria," said a statement published on the association's social media page.
According to the organization, the Trans Oil company intends to import about 300 thousand tons of sunflowers from Ukraine, which, according to representatives of the “Power of farmers” association, will once again affect the interests of local agricultural producers.
“Please note that the absence of import restrictions will not only unbalance the domestic market, but also endangers the export of wheat, corn and sunflowers to Romania, which has repeatedly warned our country about the danger of re-export of Ukrainian grain and oilseed crops . And a block on exports to Romania would be a final catastrophe for Moldovan farmers,” the association said in a statement.
Source: oleoscope (Russian)