Hungary maintains ban on this European country’s products

The interests of Hungarian farmers come first, therefore, Hungary will maintain its ban on imports of Ukrainian food products after the expiry of the free trade agreement between Brussels and Kyiv, Ministry of Agriculture István Nagy said on his social media page.

The minister noted that after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Brussels decided to allow unlimited and duty-free entry of Ukrainian produce into the territory of the European Union. As a result, large quantities of Ukrainian grain and other farm products of dubious quality have flowed into EU territory without control, jeopardising the livelihood of Hungarian farmers. In order to protect the interests of Hungarian farmers, Hungary introduced a ban on imports of these products, the minister was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his ministry.

The unlimited and unilateral EU authorisation of Ukrainian imports expired on June 5, and after that, the pre-war trade agreement between Ukraine and the EU temporarily came into force, Nagy said. According to this, Ukraine can import farm products into the EU duty-free according to specified quotas. Despite the reduction in import volume, there is still no guarantee that imports arriving in the EU will not be stuck in member states near the border, causing huge market disruptions again, the minister said.