Romania receives EU approval to resume sheep and goat exports

The European Commission has approved Romania’s Action Plan to unblock the export of sheep and goats. Interim Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tanczos Barna, stated this is a vital first step toward resuming international trade in the sector.

The plan, submitted by the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA), involves the differentiated administration of 1.3 million vaccines to combat small ruminant plague and sheep pox. To protect other exports, such as carcasses and dairy products, the full immunization scheme will be applied exclusively in the two Dobrogea counties.

ANSVSA has already secured six third-country export markets through international treaties with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Israel, and Libya, with seven additional agreements currently in progress.

In a separate development related to the sector, sheep and goat breeders held an unauthorized protest in Bucharest’s Victoriei Square on September 15. The protest was driven by dissatisfaction with the European Commission’s decision to extend export bans. While social media claims suggested the metro was stopped near the Government building during the demonstration, Metrorex confirmed that train circulation was not interrupted.