Hungary says it agrees only to ease agricultural trade with Ukraine
Hungary insists on continuing restrictions on the supply of Ukrainian agricultural products to five neighboring countries, but agrees to reduce the list of banned crops to two items – sunseed and corn. This was stated by Hungarian Minister of Agriculture Istvan Nagy.
“The import ban makes sense from an economic point of view only if it lasts at least until the harvest and storage of the new crop. In the case of wheat and rapeseed, this can be done until September 15, but not in the case of corn and sunseed. Therefore, a logical step would be to extend the EU’s import ban until December 31 for at least these two products,” he said.
The minister made the statement in Luxembourg after a meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council. Before the meeting, the heads of agriculture ministries of Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary agreed that cooperation and upholding a common position are still very important with regard to Brussels.
The Hungarian minister also said that he has initiated talks with his French and German counterparts to discuss the market disruptions caused by Ukrainian grain, which are causing problems in everyday life. The aim of these talks is to find common European solutions.
He explained that the EU needs to prepare for the presence of Ukrainian agricultural products on the European market in the long term, so “it is necessary to find comprehensive, long-term solutions.”
The Hungarian minister is convinced that Ukrainian agricultural products should be supplied to the markets of the Third World, where they have traditionally been before Russia’s war against Ukraine. By ensuring the supply of Ukrainian grain to these regions, a food crisis and, consequently, a migration crisis can be prevented.
At the same time, Hungary believes that the European Commission should introduce a progressive subsidy for transit transportation.
“It is necessary to ensure that we can transport Ukrainian agricultural products as far as possible from the border, not only to the internal markets of the Union, but also to the ports of Europe, so that they can reach the countries in need,” Nagy emphasized.
In his opinion, Europe should “open new seaports” to be able to transport Ukrainian grain in the maximum volume via traditional sea routes.
“Recently, only a small part of Ukrainian agricultural products has been transported by sea, the rest goes to Europe through us, the five countries. This also shows how much domestic markets are changing as a result of the unrestricted supply of Ukrainian agricultural products to Europe,” the head of the Hungarian agricultural ministry emphasized.
Following agreements with Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia on April 28, the European Commission announced on May 2 that it would impose temporary measures on imports of the above-mentioned categories of agricultural products from Ukraine, provided these countries lift their national measures against them. The restrictions were imposed following complaints from these countries that an oversupply of Ukrainian grain on the market was driving down prices for local agricultural products, which was affecting local farmers’ incomes.
The ban was due to expire on June 5, but the European Commission extended the restrictions until September 15. However, it was decided that the European Union will gradually lift the exceptional and temporary preventive measures taken on May 2 against imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine to five countries.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that Hungary is not against the transit of Ukrainian grain, but opposes its imports and plans to stick to this policy even after the European Commission’s ban expires in September. Ukraine, on the other hand, insists on a complete lifting of restrictions.
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