Hungary reinstates ban on food from Ukraine.

Hungary has reinstated its ban on food imports from Ukraine after the country's new government inadvertently allowed the restrictions to expire.

Hungary's ban, which applies to around 20 types of agricultural products originating from Ukraine, was imposed in 2023 after the government of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared a state of emergency due to the economic impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Photo: Ukinform

According to RT, Budapest argues that cheap imports from Ukraine have flooded the European Union (EU) market after Brussels lifted tariffs, affecting Hungarian farmers and destabilizing the agricultural sector .

Although transit shipments are permitted, imports into the Hungarian market are restricted, and the ban remains in place even after the EU replaced the temporary duty-free regime with a trade agreement last year.

However, shortly after newly elected Prime Minister Peter Magyar's Tisza party defeated Orban's Fidesz party in the recent election, Hungary's new government ended the state of emergency, causing the trade restrictions associated with it to automatically expire.

Under pressure from Hungary's main farmers' association and reports that some grain shipments had crossed the border, Budapest hastily reinstated restrictions. On May 22, the Hungarian government issued a decree reinstating the ban. Mr. Magyar subsequently confirmed that Hungary “bans the import of agricultural goods from Ukraine.”

A Hungarian government spokesperson said: "The sanctions were lifted due to a legislative error." The official explained that Hungarian lawmakers were reviewing nearly 1,000 decrees inherited from the previous government and the import ban had been "inadvertently overlooked."

Hungarian Agriculture Minister Szabolcs Bona pledged that the government “will not allow any imported products from Ukraine or any other country to endanger the livelihoods of Hungarian farmers.”

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/hungary-khoi-phuc-lenh-cam-thuc-pham-tu-ukraine-2518878.html