Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia import 43% less food from Ukraine in 2024

In 2024, four EU countries bordering Ukraine imported a total of €1.1 billion worth of agricultural products and food products, while in 2023 this figure was 43% higher, or €1.94 billion. This was reported by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine in response to a request from Delo.ua.

According to the Ministry, the value of agricultural exports by Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia over the past four years has changed as follows:

Thus, in 2024, these four countries imported 3.2 times more agricultural products from Ukraine compared to pre-war 2021, and 3.2 times less than in 2022. This growth was caused by a change in the geography of exports from Ukraine due to the Russian invasion and the blockade of the country’s foreign trade in 2022-2023.

Exports of agricultural products to these EU countries may further decline in 2025 as they demand the return of pre-war quotas for Ukrainian agricultural products. Hungarian Agriculture Minister István Nagy recently announced this on Facebook. He emphasized that the ministers of agriculture of Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia have appealed to the European Commission to cancel the autonomous trade measures for agricultural products from Ukraine, which expire in June 2025.

According to him, the European Commission should find “a long-term solution to overcome market difficulties caused by Ukrainian agricultural products.” The EC should return to pre-war quotas, introduce safeguard measures for agricultural products, as well as automatic protection and individual quotas on a regional basis for border member states.

“Hungary will maintain restrictions on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products at the national level as long as it is necessary to protect Hungarian farmers. We stand in solidarity with Ukraine, but we will protect the livelihoods and competitiveness of farmers,” István Nagy wrote on social media.

As a reminder, in January 2025, Hungary has already called on the EU to ban imports of agricultural products from Ukraine, in particular for such “sensitive” products as wheat and corn. István Nagy emphasized that the quota for imports from Ukraine of products such as honey, eggs, and sugar had been exhausted, but even after that, they had an impact on market prices in some EU member states. According to him, Hungary will face “unpredictable and irreversible consequences” if Ukraine succeeds in its attempt to join the EU, as it “will lead to the ruin of Hungarian farmers.”

Tags: agricultural products, Hungary, restrictions, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania