Hungary has vowed to extend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports as Slovakia became the third European nation to halt imports due to concerns that a glut is driving down prices and endangering farmers in other European nations.
The European Union must do more to defend Hungarian farmers, according to the agriculture minister of Hungary, Sandor Farkas, who stated on Monday that Budapest may stop imports after June.
“Ukrainian grain imports got stuck in Hungary, driving down prices by about one-third, year on year,” he told parliament, saying he will use “all possible” means to protect Hungarian farmers from market disruptions.
While Slovakia announced its decision to temporarily restrict Ukrainian agricultural imports, several central and eastern European nations claimed they were also considering taking similar action.
To safeguard the interests of their own farmers, officials from Poland and Hungary recently issued prohibitions on the import of Ukrainian grains in response to a recent spike in the price of inexpensive Ukrainian agricultural products within the bloc.
Jaroslaw Kaczyski, the head of the ruling party in Poland, claimed that despite Poland’s support for Ukraine, it was compelled to take action to defend its farmers as the Polish countryside is currently experiencing a “moment of crisis.”
The European Commission has rejected the bans and said in a statement that the “EU’s trade policy is of exclusive competence and, therefore, unilateral actions are not acceptable”.
EU representatives are expected to discuss the issue later this week.
Ukrainian officials have said they regret Poland’s decision, saying while Polish farmers may be suffering, Ukrainians have it worse.
“The first step, in our opinion, should be the opening of transit, because it is quite important and it is the thing that should be done unconditionally and after that we will talk about other things,” Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky said on Monday.
Talks between Ukrainian authorities and those in Poland, Romania and Slovakia are expected in the coming days.
What’s behind the tensions?
After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Moscow blocked the Black Sea port’s sea routes, stalling Ukrainian ships from transporting grains and other agricultural products to the rest of the world.
The blockade ended in August with Black Sea grain deal, under which Russia allows the transport of Ukrainian grain.
The EU has lifted all duties on Ukrainian grains and introduced “solidarity lanes” to ensure there are no further obstacles in global exports.
But this move has angered farmers across Eastern and Central Europe.
Roads have been blocked in countries such as Bulgaria and Romania, with farmers protesting that cheaper Ukrainian grain has made them suffer huge financial losses.
Bulgaria’s Agriculture Minister Yavor Gechev said on Monday that while his country is in solidarity with Ukraine “a local glut is being created on the agricultural market, because instead of export corridors, our countries are becoming warehouses”.
His country is also working to ban imports from Ukraine, he said.