Hungary is asking the European Union to extend restrictions on imports of Ukrainian grain and oil crops for itself, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia until at least the end of this year.
State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Zholt Feldman said this, Reuters reports.
Hungary also appealed to Brussels to provide financial assistance to Hungarian farmers to facilitate the transportation of grain stocks left over from last season.
- After the start of the 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.
- Meanwhile, 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.