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8 Apr 2023, 23:13

Hungary to strengthen inspection of Ukrainian grain transit, seeks to reinstate fees

Hungarian Minister of Agriculture Istvan Nagy noted that these measures are necessary in order to protect the interests of European farmers

BUDAPEST, April 9. /TASS/. Hungary has decided to toughen controls of the transit of Ukrainian grain via its territory to make sure that supplies get to the countries of destination rather than remain on Central European markets, Hungarian Agriculture Minister Istvan Nagy said on Saturday.

Nagy, who also made a proposal to reinstate customs fees and quotas on Ukrainian grain, said the measures were needed to protect the interests of European farmers who suffer losses amid Ukrainian food being supplied to EU markets at dumping prices.

"The European Commission said no to the general reinstatement of customs duties on Ukrainian agricultural products," so Hungary is taking the initiative "to re-introduce customs duties and quantitative limits on a group of products, imports of Ukrainian grain and oilseeds, at least temporarily," he said.

Also, Hungary will "continue to strengthen the inspection of imports, paying special attention to transit shipments in order to ensure that shipments designated for transit actually leave the country," Nagy said in a written statement circulated by his ministry.