Hungary signals national ban on Ukrainian grains imports beyond 15 Sept
Hungary has agreed with Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria that the four countries would impose national bans on Ukrainian grain imports to protect their markets if the EU does not extend a ban that expires on Sept. 15, Hungary's farm minister said on Wednesday.
Ukraine has become entirely dependent on alternative European Union routes, called Solidarity Lanes, for its grain exports after Russia abandoned in July a deal that had allowed Ukrainian grains to be shipped safely via its Black Sea ports.
As a result, farmers in neighbouring states - Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia - have faced increased competition and bottlenecks in their own markets.
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Minister of Agriculture Istvan Nagy said in a Facebook post that this new national ban would apply to a wider range of Ukrainian products than the current measures.
"We have agreed with my Romanian, Slovak and Bulgarian colleagues that if there is no decision on the extension of the existing moratorium by Brussels, then we will take national measures individually," Nagy said in a video message.
The five countries have been pushing for an extension of the current EU ban past its Friday expiry and Poland and Hungary have said they would unilaterally continue with the ban if the Commission does not extend it.
The European Commission announced "temporary preventive measures" in May that would ban sales into these five states while allowing transit to non-EU markets, mainly Africa. These measures are due to expire on Friday.
