2023-04-16T11:17:00+03:00 Politics 2024-09-15T05:37:23+03:00

Ukrainian news

Hungary Following Poland Bans Import Of Agricultural Products From Ukraine

Hungary Following Poland Bans Import Of Agricultural Products From Ukraine

Hungary following Poland temporarily banned the import of grain, oilseeds and some other agricultural products from Ukraine.

This was announced by the Hungarian Minister of Agriculture Istvan Nagy, writes DW.

"The government is committed to defending the interests of the Hungarian farming community, therefore, in the absence of significant EU measures, it is temporarily, like Poland, banning the import of grain and oil crops, as well as a number of other agricultural products from Ukraine to Hungary," Nagy said, according to the website of the Hungarian government.

According to Nagy, Ukrainian agricultural producers use methods that are prohibited in the European Union. This enables them to avoid unnecessary costs and to export to the European market large quantities of poultry meat, eggs and honey in addition to cereals and oil crops. He added that as a result, Central European farmers are deprived of the opportunity to sell their own products.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture of Hungary, the ban will last until June 30, 2023. Budapest expects that by this deadline the EU will review the temporary abolition of customs duties on Ukrainian goods and ensure fair market conditions for European agriculture.

In addition, earlier due to threats to local agricultural producers, the Polish government also adopted temporary restrictions on the import of agricultural products from Ukraine. The relevant resolution was signed by the Minister of Development and Technology of Poland Waldemar Buda on Saturday, April 15.

According to the adopted decision, 18 names of agricultural products, including milk, eggs, vegetables, meat, beekeeping products and other products, were banned.

It is noted that the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine stated that it "regrets" Warsaw's decision to temporarily limit the export of agricultural products from Ukraine to/and through the territory of Poland.

"The Ministry of Agricultural Policy has always advocated and advocates open, constructive and mutually beneficial cooperation in accordance with the Agreements on Association and Free Trade between Ukraine and the EU. The decisions of the Polish side contradict our agreements," the authority said in a statement.

In particular, the authority emphasized that they "always understood" the situations in the Polish agricultural sector and tried to respond accordingly - for example, by concluding an agreement with the Polish side last week on the transit of certain types of grain and oil crops.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Polish farmers were dissatisfied with the fact that prices for agricultural products are decreasing due to the import of grain from Ukraine. Since the beginning of March, Polish farmers have protested against the import of Ukrainian grain to the country and threatened to disrupt the President's visit to the country

The Ministry of Agrarian Policy stated that the situation is difficult for the Ukrainian farmer, but, obviously, for the Polish one as well.