"Moldova plans to join the decision of the European Union to impose temporary restrictions on the import of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflowers, with the provision of transit through our country. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vladimir Bolea has informed his Ukrainian counterpart, Mykola Solskyi, of it," the ministry's statement read.
The amount of local grain in Moldova's storage facilities is high, which puts pressure on farmers, who are concerned there will be no place for the new harvest, Bolea told Solskyi.
On Tuesday, the European Commission decided to limit the imports of agricultural products from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia until June 5, following a pledge of the five countries to lift national restrictions on the imports of grains and crops, which they imposed in April to protect domestic farmers from the uncontrolled influx of cheap Ukrainian grain.
Earlier this week, Moldovan farmers appealed to the country's authorities requiring similar measures, with the Moldovan Agriculture Ministry showing readiness to meet their demands.