Bulgaria has plans strengthen its grain reserves and buy enough grain from local producers to ensure domestic needs for a year forward as it weighs in Russia’s risks invasion of Ukraine and volatility of grain markets, said son Vice Prime Minister.
Cereal producers in the Black Sea country declared that the State plans for buy about 1.5 million tons of wheat out of 3 millions tons that are still in the country’s elevators and could restrict wheat exports until it has out planned purchases.
Traders say Bulgaria, one of European Union wheat exporters record additional exports demand as merchants look to replace grain they planned to ship from Ukraine and Russia, two of the world’s largest suppliers.
On Friday, Hungary banned all grain exports due to price increases caused by Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“We need to prepare for the worst case scenario. we have cereal for two years in the country, while the state reserve has stocks of wheat for 60 days,” Deputy Prime Minister Assen Vassilev told BNT public television. on Friday.
“We have the resources to do it (buy wheat), rather than exporting all of that and wonderful in September where to go buy or at what price”, Vassilev, who East also finance minister mentioned.
National Association of Bulgaria of Grain Producers (NAGP) said a working group group East set up with the government to discuss details on planned public purchases, including their timing and prices and how they would affect exports.
“We were told at a meeting on Friday only until the states buy out 1.5 million tons of wheat, the export could be restricted”, Radoslav Hristov with says the NAGP.
Extra customs checks carried out by Bulgaria earlier this week were slowing grain ship loadings, which producers said was an unofficial attempt to stop exports.
Hristov said that the government has undertaken not to interfere already grain export agreements sealed and to allow ships loaded from.
