Hungary wants the EU to protect farmers from Ukraine grain glut

Hungary is urging the EU to introduce “progressive” aid for the transport of Ukrainian grain in the European Union to ensure that it reaches its traditional markets rather than getting stranded in central and eastern Europe and distorting the markets there, Agriculture Minister Istvan Nagy said on Thursday, after talks with Mykola Solskyi, Ukraine’s Minister for Agrarian Policy and Food.

Nagy briefed Solskyi on his talks on European Commission representatives on Hungary’s decision to temporarily ban Ukrainian agricultural products. The EU is preparing to place Ukrainian wheat, maize, sunflower seeds and rapeseeds under the bloc’s trade liberalisation clause, he said. Nagy stressed that the Hungarian ban was temporary, introduced to protect Hungarian farmers and consumers. Ukraine’s traditional cheap trading routes across the Black Sea are being blocked due to Russian aggression, he noted.

Nagy also said that the EU’s solidarity lanes had not achieved their goal as Ukrainian products were not reaching the original markets and were upsetting the markets of neighbouring EU countries. The progressive transport subsidies could help solve that problem, he said. Hungary continues to allow the transit of Ukrainian products, he said. Shipments get sealed at the border and monitored throughout the country, he said. Their smooth and swift travel through the country is a priority, he said.

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