With Bulgaria’s ban on imports of Ukrainian sunflowerseed imports expected to expire on 1 December, traders and local media have been making the case on both sides while local crushing companies have claimed they are being cut off from supplies of the oilseed, trade sources told AgriCensus.
Bulgaria introduced its ban after the European Commission decided in September not to extend its temporary ban on Ukrainian imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflowerseed into Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia to protect domestic farmers.
According to Bulgarian trade sources quoted in the 23 November AgriCensus report, speculation by market participants and local media has increased about the possible lifting of the ban on sunflowerseed imports into the country.
Bulgarian vegetable oil producers had repeated their demand on 22 November for the return to the full liberalisation of sunflowerseed imports from Ukraine, local media reported.
“We have been waiting two-and-a-half months to see what happens. No one asked for our opinion before imposing the ban on imports from Ukraine, and now some conditions are being discussed again,” local media reports said, quoting the president of the Association of Oilseed Oil Producers, Yani Yanev.
“Sunflower imports should be liberalised,” Yanev was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, the Bulgarian government had stated that crushing companies would not be left without raw materials while also refusing to confirm that the ban would be lifted, AgriCensus wrote.
According to trade sources, the government was holding back in a bid to potentially contain any discontent from Bulgarian farmers.
However, the lack of clarity had left market participants confused and had increased speculation in the sector as the supply of Ukrainian sunflower and rapeseed was needed, particularly with Bulgaria’s smaller harvest this season.
Bulgaria’s sunflower harvest in the 2023/24 season is estimated at 1.6M tonnes, which is almost 24% lower than last year, according to estimates from local market sources.
Against this backdrop, Bulgarian buyers were also concerned about the new licensing regime in Ukraine for the export of sunflowerseed, corn, and rapeseed, according to a plan previously agreed between Ukraine and the European Commission, the report said.
At the time of the report, there was no official confirmation regarding the status of the ban or plans for its expiration.
