Minister of Agriculture: We will maintain the ban on the import of grain from Ukraine

By: STA Date: 2023. 04. 26. 09:00

Although no decision was made at the meeting of the EU agricultural council on the elimination of the internal market crisis in the European Union caused by Ukrainian grain, the result of the upcoming agreement will be that Hungary will continue to be able to maintain the ban on the import of grain from Ukraine – declared the Minister of Agriculture István Nagy Speaking to Hungarian journalists in Luxembourg on Tuesday.

During the break of the meeting of the Council of Agriculture and Fisheries of the European Union, the head of the ministry announced that the direction of the negotiations is good, because the European Union accepted the coercive measures of the member states, which unilaterally banned the import of Ukrainian agricultural measures. The EU has recognized the seriousness of the situation, understands the decision of the member states and is looking for solutions that allow the measures to be maintained. The result of the upcoming agreement will be that Hungary will continue to be able to maintain the ban on the import of grain from Ukraine, István Nagy said.

Several countries have taken a similar path

He reminded: last week, the leaders of five EU member states, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, asked the European Commission to take action in the case of Ukrainian grain flowing into Europe duty-free and causing damage to local farmers. Prior to this, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria unilaterally introduced an import ban on Ukrainian agricultural products. The minister said that further negotiations are needed on what other products should be covered by the import ban in addition to the five products recommended by the union, namely wheat, rapeseed, corn, sunflower and sunflower oil. He also said that Hungary wants guarantees that the ban will remain in effect until the end of December. Regarding the fact that the EU is creating a fund of 100 million euros to help the affected farmers, István Nagy said: negotiations are also underway on how the amount can be expanded. According to him, a solution must also be found to ensure that Ukrainian grain reaches its traditional markets and countries in need. The internal trade chain will only be restored, the market will only function if the traditional route of Ukrainian grain can be used again – he emphasized. To this end, Hungary’s proposal is that transit transport be supported by the European Union, he said. Hungary will continue to negotiate until a satisfactory solution is reached, which guarantees the safety of Hungarian farmers and that they will not receive compensation for the damages suffered, István Nagy added.

MTI