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Starting today, August 21, 2024, the European Union has introduced a new regulatory measure known as the “emergency brake” for Ukrainian honey imports, as announced by the European Commission (EC).
This provision, part of revised autonomous trade measures, will remain in effect until June 5, 2025. It aims to address concerns about the volume of Ukrainian honey entering the EU market, which has been notably high in recent years.
The emergency brake mechanism, which will take effect on June 6, 2024, covers a total of seven agricultural products: eggs, poultry, sugar, oats, maize, cereals, and honey.
Under this provision, if the import volume of any covered product exceeds the average annual amount recorded between July 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023, the emergency brake is triggered. For honey, this average is set at 44,417.56 tons.
The recent surge in Ukrainian honey imports has already surpassed the agreed volumes under the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) tariff quota for 2024.
As a result, any additional honey imports will now be subject to the most-favored-nation tariff, a standard duty applied to non-EU imports. This adjustment is aimed at stabilizing the market and protecting local honey producers from potential disruptions caused by excessive imports.
In response to these developments, the EC has also established a new tariff quota for the period from January 1 to June 5, 2025. This quota, set at 18,507.32 tons, represents 5/12 of the threshold that triggers the emergency brake.
Despite these measures, imports of Ukrainian honey into the EU have remained relatively steady over the past five years, averaging approximately 49,000 tons annually.
In Bulgaria, the impact of these import regulations is also being felt in other sectors. Poultry farmers in the country are expressing concerns over Ukrainian egg imports, which they argue are negatively affecting local prices.
During a recent meeting with Bulgaria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food, representatives from the Association of Industrial Poultry Breeding highlighted their grievances and requested that the EC activate the safeguard mechanism to impose a ban on Ukrainian egg imports within 120 days.
The poultry farmers’ concerns are rooted in the fact that the annual quota for Ukrainian eggs was exceeded four times by May of this year, without any corresponding adjustments in end-user prices.
This situation has placed significant pressure on Bulgarian poultry farmers, who are now forced to sell their products at lower prices while only a few traders benefit from the reduced import costs.
The Bulgarian poultry sector’s push for a ban on Ukrainian egg imports underscores the broader challenges faced by local farmers as they navigate the complexities of international trade and market fluctuations.
The outcome of these discussions with the EC will be closely watched, as it could have significant implications for both the EU’s agricultural trade policies and the livelihoods of farmers across the region.