Goods imported from Ukraine will be placed back on the banned list, Hungary’s minister responsible for agriculture and the food economy announced on Thursday.
Szabolcs Bóna said on Facebook that the previous government had left behind legal uncertainty and that the new Tisza Government would eliminate this uncertainty by restoring restrictions on Ukrainian imports as quickly as possible.
According to the minister, the former Fidesz government failed to ensure that restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural imports would remain legally secure after the end of the state of emergency, despite publicly claiming to protect Hungarian farmers.
Bóna stressed that the Tisza government’s position is clear: it will not allow Ukrainian or any other imported products to endanger the livelihoods of Hungarian farmers or the supply of healthy food to Hungarian consumers. He described the protection of Hungarian food, farmland and farmers as a national interest.
The ministry will immediately review the legal situation and take the necessary legal steps to make market protections enforceable again. The minister emphasized that Hungarian consumers must have access to safe, controlled and high-quality food, while Hungarian farmers should operate in a market environment where their work receives fair compensation.
The government is currently drafting regulations affecting a wide range of products, including fresh and frozen beef, pork, lamb and goat meat, poultry products, eggs, frozen vegetables, grains and processed cereals, sunflower and rapeseed products, flour, oils, crispbread and wine.
The list also includes wheat, rye, barley, corn, buckwheat, millet, rapeseed, sunflower seeds and several processed grain products.
Later, Bóna added that according to the National Food Chain Safety Office, six shipments from Ukraine were registered for import between May 18 and 20 after the previous ban was lifted. Four shipments contained white sugar totaling 91 tons, which was not on the banned-products list, while two shipments consisted of processed grain and cereal germ products.
