Hungary bans grain exports

Because of the rise in grain prices, the Hungarian government on Friday banned the export of grain from Hungary with immediate effect. Hungarian Minister of Agriculture István Nagy stated: “All grain exports are still prohibited by the government today because of the price increase caused by the Russian operation in Ukraine.” The reason for this is the concern expressed by Hungarian cattle breeders.

Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán also commented on the challenges facing agriculture. At a congress of the Hungarian Association of Farmers’ Groups and Cooperatives, he said “the most important thing is that Hungary stays out of this war conflict”. It is about preventing “Hungarians from having to pay the price of the war”.

To this end, he announced that the Hungarian government will significantly increase funding for farm subsidies. This increase must be used to strengthen domestic processing of agricultural products.

While Hungary has agreed to EU sanctions, it has refused to allow arms shipments through its territory from other EU countries to Ukraine. The background is, among other things, a Hungarian minority in western Ukraine, which suffers from the same discriminatory laws as Russian-speaking Ukrainians.

With a ban on grain exports, Hungary is one of the first countries to react to the looming consequences of the Russian military operation and sanctions on the supply situation in Europe. Grain imports from Russia and the Ukraine have been restricted, while the availability of fertilizers is decreasing and energy costs are rising. As a result of these factors, not only prices will increase but also production losses are likely in Europe.