The European Commission finally heard the Hungarian farmers’ pleas, our efforts were not in vain. An EU-level agreement has been reached on the issue of the ban on Ukrainian grain imports, Minister of Agriculture István Nagy announced on his social media account.
The Minister highlighted that Brussels had given way to the pressure exerted by the five Member States concerned –Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania –acknowledging the gravity of the situation that had developed in the region, and by applying a special protective measure in practice, it was making possible a ban on the importation of several agricultural products from Ukraine into the territories of these Member States as long as the present extraordinary situation existed.
The agreement applies to four products, to wheat, maize, sunflower seeds and rapeseed; meaning that the importation of these products into Hungary will remain forbidden also in the future. The domestic regulation relating to the ban on imports will be phased out once the measure to be introduced by Brussels takes effect, and so it will be possible to maintain the ban on imports.
We have additionally been reassured that the European Commission will also recommend an extraordinary grant of the amount of EUR 100 million for the farmers of bordering Member States which will be distributed among the five Member States proportionately. Hungary has succeeded in convincing Brussels to change course, the Minister underlined.
Mr Nagy pointed out that disruptions on the market will be resolved once Ukrainian grain is able to reach its target countries in Africa and in the Middle East via the traditional routes; Hungary continues to support this. At the same time, we will do everything we can to guarantee the supply of quality food products for Hungary. Only high-quality, strictly controlled, safe food products can be served on the tables of Hungarian families, this is not subject to any compromise, the Minister said.
He added that the Hungarian government always stands with Hungarian farmers, and also in this situation it was only open to an agreement which guaranteed their interests.