Hungary will impose new restrictions on agricultural imports from Ukraine
Hungary’s government will add new restrictions on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products to protect Hungarian farmers from market fluctuations caused by cheaper Ukrainian imports
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary's government will place new restrictions on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products, the country's agricultural minister said Thursday, a move designed to protect Hungarian farmers from market fluctuations caused by cheaper Ukrainian imports.
Agricultural Minister István Nagy told a news conference that a 2022 European Union decision to allow for duty-free imports from Ukraine, meant to help keep its economy afloat after Russia's invasion, had led to “severe oversupply and significantly low prices” in the European agricultural market.
He blamed the EU and its executive commission for failing to protect European farmers who could not compete with the cheaper imports, and said Hungary would pass additional protections “in its national competence.”
“Brussels and the European Commission have betrayed Hungarian farmers and are supporting Ukrainian oligarchs instead,” Nagy said.
Hungary has had a fraught relationship with neighboring Ukraine, and is among the EU countries that has offered the least support to Kyiv during its war with Russia.
Soon after the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, Hungary declared it would not provide weapons to Kyiv or allow their transfer across its eastern border. It has also argued against sanctions on Moscow and threatened to derail EU financial assistance to its war-ravaged neighbor.
On Thursday, Nagy said the government had decided on a five-point plan to assist Hungarian farmers, including a requirement for sellers and logistics companies to report to
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