SOFIA, Bulgaria

Bulgarian farmers on Monday staged nationwide demonstrations to protest the lifting of a ban on Ukrainian grain imports.

Protesters blocked traffic for almost an hour by placing agricultural machinery on roads at nearly 40 points across the country.

Farmers protested at border gates and routes leading to them, which were also supported by some unions of fruit and vegetable producers.

In a joint statement issued by the organizers, farmers demanded the extension of the ban on the import of sunflowers, wheat, corn, and rapeseed from Ukraine.

They also ask the government to prohibit the import of unrefined oil, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, milk and dairy products, meat and meat products, and livestock from Ukraine.

Protesters also demanded an increase in subsidies as well as tighter controls over the origin, quality, and safety of agricultural imports.

On Thursday, the Bulgarian parliament approved a bill to lift the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain as of Sept. 15.

In June, the European Commission announced that it would extend the ban on Ukrainian grain until Sept. 15, an arrangement allowing five of Ukraine’s EU neighbors – Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia – to ban domestic sales of some Ukrainian grains.

The "exceptional and temporary preventive measures" were imposed on May 2 on imports of wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seed from Ukraine under the exceptional safeguard of the Autonomous Trade Measures Regulation.

Last week, the EU lifted a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports after Kyiv agreed to tighten controls on agricultural product exports.