European Commission: Hungary has still not lifted the unilateral ban on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products

Hungary remained the only one among Ukraineʼs neighboring countries that still has not canceled unilateral restrictions on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products. These restrictions were introduced at the level of the European Union.

This was stated by the spokeswoman of the European Commission on Trade and Agriculture Miriam Garcia Ferrer, writes Ukrinform.

"There is still one country that has not canceled unilateral measures against agricultural exports from Ukraine. This should not necessarily affect Ukrainian transit and does not apply to the entire EU. But we have offered an aid package on the condition that unilateral measures must be withdrawn. The country that did not do this is Hungary," the spokeswoman of the European Commission noted.

She reminded that the European Union is ready to allocate money to help local farmers, provided that all countries cancel the previously introduced bans. These funds were to be allocated from the so-called agricultural reserve of the EU.

"We have already used part of this amount for the first aid package that we presented in March. We have now proposed another €100 million for the second package and smaller amounts for countries affected by other market situations and crises. Therefore, more than half of this amount is still available to us, and we are ready to use it if another crisis or situation arises that will require it," the spokeswoman of the European Commission stated.

• After the start of a full-scale war, the European Union canceled all tariffs and quotas for the transit of Ukrainian grain. Farmers from Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia were reported to have lost €417 million due to the influx of Ukrainian grain into their markets.
• Already on April 15, Poland banned the import of grain and other foodstuffs from Ukraine, and also decided to introduce a ban on their transit there.
• Subsequently, a ban on imports was announced in Hungary and Slovakia, but they promised to maintain transit. The European Commission called the decisions of the three countries unacceptable. After the negotiations, Poland promised to resume grain transit. However, the European Commission agreed to ban the import of wheat, corn, rape and sunflower. The European Commission also decided to allocate an additional €100 million to help farmers who suffered losses.
• On May 2, the European Commission officially temporarily banned the import of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine. The ban will last until June 5, 2023. During this period, the mentioned goods can be imported to all EU countries, except Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. At the same time, Ukrainian products can be transited through their territory.