Hungary will extend the ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products from September 16 and expand the restrictive list to 24 products

The Hungarian government will extend the ban on imports of Ukrainian grain products from September 16 and may restrict another 24 products to “protect the domestic market.” This was announced by Hungarian Agriculture Minister Istvan Nagy at the Transit political festival.

“If the EU does not extend the ban on imports of certain Ukrainian grain products, which expires on September 15, Hungary will impose a ban on imports of not only four products, but also all 24 previous products to protect the domestic market,” the minister said.

According to him, in recent years, Hungarian agriculture has been experiencing one shock after another. The coronavirus epidemic, drought, the war raging in the neighborhood and its consequences, the energy crisis, and the fact that cheap Ukrainian agricultural products have flooded the European market duty-free are all difficulties for producers, he said.

“Although the harvest is better, with almost a record amount of corn expected this year, sales are facing difficulties due to cheap competition,” Nagy added.

In May, the European Union allowed Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds, while allowing the transit of such goods for export to other countries. The ban is set to expire on September 15.

Tags: restrictions, Ukraine, grain, Hungary