Kiev has previously criticized Hungary over its ban on imports of agricultural products.Continue reading
The government is checking not only the Ukrainian grain passing through the country and its route, but also the quality of the crops that arrived earlier, government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkirályi said. She added that experts at the laboratories testing the grain are visiting about 700 domestic grain warehouses to take samples.
“We will not compromise on ensuring that only high-quality and safe food reaches the Hungarian people,” the government spokeswoman said in a video posted on her social media after visiting the National Food Chain Safety Office’s laboratory. Alexandra Szentkirályi took a look at how grain testing is carried out in Hungary.
The government spokeswoman also recently visited Záhony, a town near the Ukrainian border. There, together with staff from the National Tax and Customs Administration, she inspected grain shipments from Ukraine. She emphasized that the transit of Ukrainian grain through Hungary is subject to strict controls.
Large quantities of Ukrainian grain used to arrive in Hungary, causing huge problems for Hungarian farmers.
Although the original idea was to get Ukrainian crops out of the war-torn country to help them reach famine-stricken destinations such as Africa and the Middle East, the grain ended up stuck in Hungary and the surrounding Central European countries, drastically reducing grain and maize prices.
As a result of the grain crisis, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, and Slovakia recently imposed import bans on agricultural products from Ukraine. This import ban is currently authorized by the European Commission until June 5. Under the measure, the products can only enter the countries concerned as transit consignments and must leave the border through designated humanitarian corridors.
Featured photo via Facebook/Péter Szijjártó