The government of Hungary has confirmed its readiness to close its borders to agricultural products from Ukraine starting from September 16 if the EU does not agree to extend the ban on the domestic sale of Ukrainian grain.

According to Agrarszektor, Hungarian Minister of Agriculture István Nagy stated that if the EU does not continue the import ban on certain Ukrainian grains, which expires on September 15, Hungary will not only close its borders to Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds, but will also expand the list to 24 products.

The Hungarian minister justifies this action as protection for their domestic market.

Nagy laments that in recent years, Hungarian agriculture has been experiencing "one shock after another."

According to him, Hungarian farmers are facing difficulties due to "the coronavirus epidemic, drought, the neighbouring war and its consequences, an energy crisis, and the fact that cheap Ukrainian agricultural products have flooded the European market without customs duties."

"Even though the harvest is better – it is expected that this year's corn harvest will reach an almost record level – cheap competition complicates sales," Nagy added.

In May, the EU authorised Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds while allowing the transit of such goods for export to other countries. The ban is set to expire on September 15.

Ukraine maintains its firm stance that the EU should lift its unilateral restrictions on Ukrainian exports and believes that Brussels should reach an agreement with Poland. Poland, on the other hand, has said it will not abolish the ban even if the EU does not agree to extend it.

Hungary's willingness to take a similar step strengthens Warsaw's position.

Furthermore, on August 25, the Polish Minister of Agriculture, Robert Telus, announced that five EU countries had agreed to demand the extension of the import ban on grain from Ukraine.