Hungarian farmers follow Poles in announcing blockade on the border with Ukraine
2 February 20:30
On 9 February, Hungarian farmers will start protests at the Záhony-Chop checkpoint. This was reported by the with reference to the Vg.
István Jakab, chairman of the Association of Hungarian Farmers’ Groups and Organisations, said that Hungarian farmers will have to compete with products “whose production does not have to meet any EU requirements” if the European Commission decides to extend duty-free imports from Ukraine.
“Hungarian farmers support the Hungarian government, which also defends our interests before Brussels (we are talking about the ban on imports of Ukrainian grain – ed,)
– the Association of Hungarian Farmers’ Groups and Organisations said in a statement.
At the same time, Hungarian Minister of Agriculture Istvan Nagy recently stated that Hungary would maintain a national ban on imports from Ukraine until a solution is found at the EU level.
It is worth noting that Polish farmers have announced a new nationwide strike, which will also start on 9 February and last until 10 March.
Blockade of Ukrainian borders
Ukraine’s economy has suffered losses of more than €1.5 billion due to the suspension of operations at the western border crossing points over the past two months.
On 6 November, Polish transport companies began blocking truck traffic at three major checkpoints on the Ukrainian border: “Korczowa-Krakowiec, Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska and Dorohusk-Yagodyn. One of the requirements was to reinstate the permits for Ukrainian carriers that had been cancelled under the agreement with the EU by 30 June 2024.
On6 January, truck traffic to the Medyka-Shehyni border crossingin Poland resumed. Three other border crossing points were opened on 17 January, namely Dorohusk – Yagodyn, Hrebenne – Rava-Ruska, and Korczowa – Krakivets.
In Romania, on 13 and 14 January, local farmers blocked the movement of Ukrainian trucks through the Siret checkpoint, and on 15 January, they began blocking the Vicovu de Sus checkpoint. on 18 January, Romanian farmers began blocking the Dyakove-Halmeu checkpoint. However, as of 20 January, these checkpoints were reopened.
The preferential trade regime and its opponents
Many EU members do not like the quota-free import of Ukrainian products to the EU, which was in effect in 2022-2023. In particular, a number of Eastern European countries are demanding that the EU impose import duties on Ukrainian goods, citing unfair competition. The agriculture ministers of Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia sent a letter to the European Commission asking for action, saying that cheaper agricultural products from Ukraine were eating into their export markets.
The Ukrainian side tried to reach an agreement with the ‘problematic’ countries.” In particular, on 26 January, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution that improves the rules for exporting certain types of agricultural products. According to the resolution, a company may be excluded from the list of verified agricultural entities if it violates these rules.
When preparing the decision, the European Commission also considered special mechanisms for each individual country, which would have been to stop the export of Ukrainian goods to a particular national market if this product oversaturates it. The current decision of the EC seems to be even tougher than expected, and it restores quotas for some Ukrainian products, even if they are at the average level of Ukrainian exports.