Bulgaria is starting to slow grain vessel loadings through administrative checks in what companies fear is an attempt to halt exports in response to the war in Ukraine, a producers’ group said March 3.
Traders say Bulgaria is among European Union countries seeing extra export demand as merchants rush to replace grain they had planned to ship from Ukraine and Russia, two of the world’s biggest suppliers.
“At the moment, not officially, but by oral instructions, Bulgaria is breaching the EU rights for free movement of goods,” Radoslav Hristov, the head of the National Association of Grain Producers, told Reuters.
Hristov said a cargo ship due to load wheat for Portugal is not being allowed to dock at the Black Sea Port of Burgas because customs authorities were carrying out document checks.
Reports of slowed vessel loading have fuelled market rumours that Bulgaria is planning a grain export ban.
That has added to nervousness among traders grappling with the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that has closed Ukrainian ports and prompted western financial sanctions against Moscow.
