Agriculture Minister István Nagy said Hungary has requested an extension of the Ukraine import ban in Brussels jointly with the agricultural ministers of other “frontline” countries until the end of the year.
Minister Nagy said on Facebook on Tuesday that it was important to improve the operation of “solidarity corridors” and to restore their original purpose. The problem remains that the cost of land transport is very high, he added. As a solution, the European Union could provide progressive transport support taking into consideration transport distance, he said, adding that it would make sense to transport Ukrainian grain to European ports on land so as to ensure that the shipments reach the destinations where they are needed. Nagy also said that it was important that Ukrainian agricultural products should return to their traditional export markets and reach the countries that need them. So it is necessary to ensure that the Ukrainian produce reaching European ports do indeed end up in developing third countries, the minister said. If they stay in Europe, then the local produce in Europe cannot be sold and developing countries will acquire what they need from Russia, he added.