Farmers in Romania, Bulgaria protest Ukrainian grain influx

BUCHAREST, Romania — Farmers in Romania and Bulgaria staged protests Friday to express their anger over the European Union’s response to a glut of agricultural products from Ukraine that they say are flooding local markets and undercutting prices. Some farmers outside the European Commission’s representative office in Bucharest brandished placards that read: “Do not punish our solidarity,” while others urged bloc officials to “take responsibility, take action, take care.” Last year, the EU waived customs duties and import quotas on Ukrainian agricultural products as a way of facilitating transport to third-country markets. However, farmers in Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, and other EU countries have been disproportionately hard-hit by an influx of cheap Ukrainian produce — namely grain — which stays on local markets and undercuts prices. “We will witness a chain of bankruptcies of Romanian farmers.’’ Brussels last month had pledged to help grain and cereal farmers in Romania, Bulgaria, and Poland with a total compensation package of 56.3 million euros — 16.7 million for Bulgaria; nearly 30 million for Poland, and 10 million for Romania. “If today’s protest is not heard in Brussels, we will consider larger actions with the participation of other countries that share the same view,” said Iliya Prodanov, head of the grain producers’ association in Bulgaria.