The Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture and Food, Georgi Takhov, has requested the European Commission to implement protective measures regarding the import of honey from Ukraine to Bulgaria during the EU Council meeting on agriculture and fisheries. His request was supported by a representative from Romania, as reported by the Ministry of Agriculture of Bulgaria.
According to Takhov, the import of Ukrainian honey complicates the sale of local products. This is because significant volumes of Ukrainian honey entering the European market at very low prices are putting considerable pressure on the prices of Bulgarian honey.
"In addition to the many challenges facing the industry, over the last three years it has also encountered competition from imports from Ukraine. The volume of honey imported from Ukraine to our country from January to October 2024 has increased by more than 30% compared to the same period last year," Takhov emphasized, adding that the high level of imports from Ukraine places Bulgarian producers in a difficult position.
The Hungarian Minister of Agriculture, István Nagy, explained at a press conference following the meeting of EU member state agriculture ministers that Bulgaria and Romania have requested the application of protective measures for the import of honey from Ukraine into the European Union, as the duty-free quota established under autonomous trade liberalization has been exhausted, and "the customs duty creates problems in domestic markets burdened by imports."
"The measure - the so-called ATM regulation - has been exhausted, yet the amount of honey coming from Ukraine is still subject to customs duties, which also creates issues in domestic markets that are burdened by imports," the Ministry of Agriculture of Hungary quoted him as saying.
Nagy emphasized the need for effective measures against the infiltration of counterfeit honey into the EU market, for instance, through labeling and separating natural and non-natural honey. He also believes it is necessary to compensate for "emerging competitive disadvantages" and provide additional support to the beekeeping sector.
As reported, the European Commission imposed tariff quotas on Ukrainian honey on August 20 due to exceeding the duty-free volumes of its supplies to the European market. The import of honey from Ukraine from the beginning of 2024 until August has surpassed the quota limit of 44,418 tons. Additional imports are subject to Most Favored Nation (MFN) duties. Specifically, from January 1, 2025, until June 5, 2025, a new tariff quota will be introduced, corresponding to 5/12 of the threshold established for triggering the emergency brake. For honey, the new quota volume will be 18,507 tons.
The EU Council has introduced quotas for the supply of eggs and sugar to the European Union from June 2, 2024, to June 5, 2025. The new quota for eggs is set at 9,662 tons, while for sugar it is set at 109,44 tons.
On May 13, 2024, the Council of the European Union approved the extension of temporary trade liberalization measures for Ukraine for another year, until June 5, 2025. At the same time, a mechanism for emergency brakes will be applied to particularly sensitive agricultural products, including sugar, eggs, poultry, oats, corn, honey, and cereals in the event that the import of these products in 2024 exceeds the average volumes recorded in the second half of 2021 and during 2022 and 2023. Similar emergency brake measures may be applied in 2025 if the volume of Ukrainian exports from January 1 to June 5, 2025, exceeds 5/12 of the quota established for 2024.
According to Article 4 (7) of the regulation on autonomous trade measures applied to Ukrainian products, from June 6, 2024, to June 5, 2025, Ukraine will be able to supply the EU with 57,101 tons of poultry meat, 9,662 tons of eggs, 109,439 tons of sugar, 18,507 tons of honey, 4,648 million tons of corn, 1,017 tons of oats, and 8,603 tons of cereals without paying duties.
Sources:
https://kormany.hu/hirek/hatekonyan-fel-kell-lepni-a-hamis-mezek-unios-forgalomba-hozatala-ellen