Bulgaria demands to stop the import of eggs from Ukraine due to the crisis of local poultry farms

Bulgaria has officially appealed to the European Commission with a demand to stop the import of Ukrainian eggs due to significant pressure on local producers and the threat of bankruptcy. The Minister of Agriculture and Food of Bulgaria Giorgiy Takhov made this statement at the meeting of the EU Council on Agriculture and Fisheries held in Brussels.

As Takhov noted, the Bulgarian poultry industry suffers serious losses due to the flow of Ukrainian eggs to the country's market. In particular, he emphasized that the main impact falls on the production of fresh chicken eggs, which causes not only pressure on prices, but also leads to the bankruptcy of a number of local poultry farms.

In the first six months of 2024, the import of Ukrainian eggs to Bulgaria increased fivefold, reaching 2,618 tons. Such a sharp jump significantly affected the local market, which was threatened with crisis. According to Takhov, Ukrainian eggs are much cheaper than Bulgarian eggs, which puts local producers in non-competitive conditions.

The minister also emphasized that the already implemented protective measures at the EU level do not live up to expectations. They did not help curb the negative consequences for the Bulgarian market, which forced the country's government to demand more decisive action from the European Commission.

George Takhov emphasized that Ukraine's support remains important for Bulgaria, but it should not harm national producers. He emphasized that it is necessary to find a balance between international solidarity and protection of the interests of local farmers in order to prevent their bankruptcy.

In this regard, Bulgaria called on the EU to stop the import of eggs from Ukraine for the period of stabilization of the domestic market. The Ministry also submitted detailed data to the European Commission, on the basis of which a corresponding decision on further steps should be taken.