István Nagy: if necessary, the government will ban the import of Ukrainian grain products under national authority

(Photo: drnagyistvan.hu)

István Nagy said: if the EU does not extend the ban on the import of certain Ukrainian grain products, which expires on September 15, then Hungary will impose the import ban not only on the four products so far, but on all 24 previous products in order to protect the internal market.

According to the Minister of Agriculture, Hungarian agriculture has been falling from one shock to another in recent years

The coronavirus epidemic, the drought, the war raging in our neighborhood and its consequences, the energy crisis caused by the failed Brussels sanctions, the price increase, and the fact that cheap Ukrainian agricultural products have flooded the European market duty-free are all difficulties for producers, he said.

He pointed out that even though the harvest is better – a near-record amount of corn is expected this year – due to the cheap competition, sales are running into difficulties. István Nagy emphasized: agriculture is an area that has fully received the EU funds, the strategic plan of the Hungarian common agricultural policy was adopted as the thirteenth among the member states. This gives producers security regarding their resources for the next seven years. He explained: area-based subsidies are paid for each hectare, and since smaller farms are more vulnerable, farmers are paid an additional 82 euros on top of the basic subsidy for up to 10 hectares in a unique way in Hungary, and up to 150 hectares they receive an extra 42 euros.

The Minister of Agriculture also touched on the fact that agriculture does not offer a profession, but a way of life, and already in the twenty-first century it integrates the knowledge of most sectors

He expressed his joy that 30 percent more people applied to Hungarian agricultural higher education than last year. At the end of his presentation, István Nagy called it a problem that the concept of a farm animal and a companion animal are mixed up, saying: “social hypocrisy and misrepresentation of roles must be directed back towards normality”.

MTI