Hungary and other EU countries suffering because of Ukrainian grain

Agriculture ministers from European Union member states in central Europe are in “full agreement” on maintaining a united front to press for restrictions on exemptions from customs duties on the imports of agricultural products from Ukraine, Agriculture Minister István Nagy said on Friday, after talks with his peers in countries neighbouring Ukraine.

Nagy said exemptions from customs duties should be restricted and quotas reintroduced for wheat, maize, sunflower, rapeseed and soybeans from Ukraine amid a glut in neighbouring countries, MTI wrote. The ministers are also asking the European Commission to buy unsold grain grown and stored in member states bordering Ukraine for humanitarian purposes, he added. The ministers will send a joint letter with their latest recommendations to the EC and discuss them at the next meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, Nagy said.

Hungary would like to introduce temporary customs on Ukrainian grain if its destination is a neighbouring country, the minister wrote on his Facebook page:

 Hungary gas consumption falls by 26 pc yr/yr in March

Hungary’s consumption of natural gas dropped by 25.8 percent in March, the energy ministry said on Friday, noting consumer behaviour, government savings measures and the mild winter as reasons behind the decrease. The decline in electricity consumption also continued, it added. Citing the Central Statistical Office (KSH), the ministry said gas and electricity consumption in the first quarter decreased by almost the same proportion as the March indicator. Domestic gas storage is still 43 percent of total capacity at the end of the heating season, the ministry said in a statement.

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