Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria want the ban on the import and transit of Ukrainian grain to last until the end of the year. They also asked once again for extra help from the EU. That’s what Istvan Nagy, Minister of Agriculture of Hungary, said today at a meeting in Luxembourg with his European counterparts.

Hungary and other Eastern European countries have banned Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products from their territories since last week. Despite being compensated by the millions from the EU, East European farmers stated that they could not compete with the lower prices of Ukrainian grain. They followed Poland’s example in banning, although Warsaw has now decided to allow the transit of Ukrainian grain again.

Last week, the EC had proposed providing an additional 100 million, on top of the 56 million it had promised, to compensate farmers. But Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia expect even more additional action. These countries served as transit routes for Ukraine’s grain, but much grain was stuck in the country due to export problems, which prevented farmers from storing their own grain.

Therefore, Eastern European countries want additional assistance from the EU with this transit issue. “We hope that the European Commission accepts our measures and we hope that they will remain in force until the end of 2023, to give our farmers the opportunity to harvest and store their crops,” said Nagy.

Eva Selderbeek