Hungary wants to impose new restrictions on imports from Ukraine

The Hungarian government intends to introduce new restrictions on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products to protect domestic farmers from market fluctuations.

This was announced on Thursday by Hungarian Minister of Agriculture Istvan Nagy, reports AR.

Nagy said that the EU’s decision to allow duty-free imports from Ukraine in 2022 to help keep the country’s economy going after Russia’s invasion has led to “significant oversupply and significantly lower prices” on the European agricultural market.

He accused the EU and its executive commission of failing to protect European farmers who have been unable to compete with cheaper imports and said Hungary would take additional protective measures “within its national competence.”

According to him, the government has adopted a five-point plan to help farmers, including a requirement for sellers and logistics companies to report to the government on banned products imported through Ukraine, regardless of the country of origin.

Nagy added that processed foods made from Ukrainian grain would also be subject to the restrictions.

As reported, last year Hungary imposed a ban on the import of 24 Ukrainian agricultural products, but said it would allow their movement through its territory. The ban concerned grains, oilseeds, flour, oil and some meat products. Last month, the government removed Ukrainian natural honey from the list.

Tags: Ukraine, Hungary