Hungary Grain Lobby Urges Cabinet to Scrap Ukraine Import Ban

Hungary’s grain lobby criticized a government ban on agricultural imports from Ukraine, saying it would lead to shortages and undermine efforts to curb the European Union’s highest inflation rate.

The country needs to import about 700,000 tons of feed corn after a poor harvest last year and eastern neighbor Ukraine would be the cheapest supplier, Zsofia Potsa, secretary-general of the Hungarian Grain Association, told Bloomberg in an interview on Friday.

“Our members are desperate and don’t support any import bans, in fact we need imports,” Potsa said by phone. The association represents millers, grain processors and traders who produce everything from basic food items like flour and sugar to animal feed and ethanol.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government joined Poland and Slovakia to impose a ban on Ukrainian grains and selected agricultural products until the end of June. While those EU nations argue such shipments risk hurting domestic producers, Potsa said that blocking those flows will keep pressure on food prices in Hungary, which has an inflation rate exceeding 25%.

IC UAC according to Bloomberg