Hungary follows Poland and Slovakia in banning Ukrainian grain deliveries
MOSCOW. April 17 (Interfax) - The Hungarian government has introduced a ban on the import of grain from Ukraine, linking it with earlier similar decisions made by Poland and Slovakia.
"Like Slovakia and Poland, Hungary is also banning the supply of Ukrainian grain. We cannot endanger Hungarian agriculture and the livelihoods of Hungarian farmers," Ukrainian media reported quoting the Hungarian government in social media.
On April 15, Poland adopted a unilateral decision to temporarily halt imports of all agricultural products from Ukraine for the period until June 30, 2023. Meanwhile, a bilateral agreement had previously been reached on the temporary suspension of exports from Ukraine of only four crops - wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower, and transit was maintained, but with tougher conditions that the parties planned to quickly agree upon.
Following Poland and Hungary, Bulgaria is also considering an embargo on Ukrainian grain. Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture Yavor Gechev said that the country's government is discussing a ban on the import of Ukrainian grain following the decisions made by Warsaw and Budapest, BNR News reported.
"It is also necessary to protect Bulgarian interests, especially since, when a restriction like this has already been introduced by two other states, there is a serious risk for the accumulation of large quantities in our country if we do not take appropriate measures," he said.
Gechev added that the ban had already been discussed with the ministers of agriculture of six European countries. Meanwhile, Bulgaria sent an inquiry about the problem to Brussels in September last year. On April 18, consultations on the issue will also be held with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev.
Meanwhile, the European Commission declared the unacceptability of the independent decisions made by Poland and Hungary on agricultural product import restrictions from Ukraine, Reuters reported.
In turn, on April 13, the Slovak Ministry of Agriculture announced the discovery of a delivery of 1,500 tonnes of Ukrainian grain which has been treated with banned pesticides, prohibited the use of any Ukrainian grain and flour and recommended a temporary ban on their imports. Polish public organizations also actively discussed the quality of Ukrainian grain and created a special team to investigate its sale on the domestic market. However, Polish phytosanitary experts found that all shipments of grain are checked at the European border. The problem with Ukrainian grain, in their opinion, is of a political nature.
On April 14, the ministers of the Visegrad Four countries (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic), as well as Romania and Bulgaria, held online negotiations on the situation with regard to Ukrainian grain. According to their results, Slovak Minister Samuel Vlchan said that at the Agrifish Council, which brings together agrarian and fisheries ministers of the European Union, he plans to present the use of an EU tool through which Ukrainian grain would be purchased in cooperation with the UN World Food Program. This will help Ukraine in a difficult situation and at the same time protect the EU market from the dumping of goods from Ukraine, he said.
Earlier, in Poland, as well as Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, agricultural producers protested against the influx of huge amounts of grain from Ukraine into their countries, as Brussels has temporarily canceled duties.