Bulgaria has been cut off from the extraordinary measures to support EU fruit producers who are affected by the ban on imports of agricultural products in Russia.
The European Commission has extended these subsidies by one year, given the Russian Federation's decision to continue the embargo on food imports until the end of 2018; however, only 12 Member States will benefit from this aid. Bulgaria is allegedly not among them because it is a small fruit producer.
Neighbouring Greece, however, is on the list of countries, as well as Poland, which is the EU's leading apple producer. Such measures were first introduced in August 2014.
Some time ago, former Minister of Agriculture Desislava Taneva commented that since the introduction of the Russian embargo in August 2014 until January 2016, Bulgarian agriculture lost nearly 300 million Lev (about 153.40 million Euro). To date, those losses have probably doubled.
Growers from the 12 countries chosen will receive full EU funding to withdraw the fruit from the market, provided they find an application that does not increase food waste and results in the product's consumption, such as making it available for charity.
The support given to growers who withdraw their production from the market, but prefer green harvesting or its use for composting, will be lower. The scheme can be applied for a maximum of 165,835 tonnes of fruit, including apples, pears, plums, citrus, peaches and nectarines.
European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan commented that the Commission has done its best to support the European growers affected by the Russian embargo and that the extension of the measures goes hand in hand with the modernization and simplification of the Common Agricultural Policy.
