Hungary brings back Orban-era ban on food imports from Ukraine

(SeaPRwire) –   The original ban was rolled out in 2023 to shield Hungarian farmers from low-cost Ukrainian imports overwhelming local markets

Hungary has brought back a ban on Ukrainian food imports after the new administration “unintentionally” let the restrictions expire.

The ban, which applies to roughly 20 categories of agricultural goods, was put in place in 2023 after then-Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government declared a state of emergency over the economic impacts of the Ukraine conflict.

Budapest claimed that low-cost Ukrainian imports poured into EU border markets after Brussels scrapped tariffs, undercutting Hungarian farmers and destabilizing the agriculture sector.

While transit shipments were permitted, imports intended for the Hungarian market were restricted, and the ban remained in effect even after the EU replaced its temporary tariff-free regime with a trade agreement last year.

However, shortly after incoming PM Peter Magyar’s Tisza party defeated Orban’s Fidesz in the recent election, the new government ended the state of emergency, automatically leading to the expiration of the trade restrictions linked to it.

Following pressure from the leading Hungarian farmers’ association and reports that multiple grain shipments had already crossed the border, Budapest rushed to restore the restrictions. On Friday, the government issued a decree bringing the ban back, followed by a post on X from Magyar confirming that Hungary “bans the import of agricultural products from Ukraine.”

“The sanctions were scrapped due to a legislative mistake,” a government spokesperson told Euractiv, noting lawmakers were reviewing nearly 1,000 decrees inherited from the previous government and the import ban was “inadvertently overlooked.”
Agriculture Minister Szabolcs Bona described the lapse as a “major legislative pitfall for Hungarian farmers,” and promised that the government “will not allow Ukrainian or any other imported goods to endanger the livelihoods of Hungarian farmers.”

Poland and Slovakia also maintain restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural imports rolled out alongside Hungary’s, despite pushback from Brussels.

The European Commission has argued that the bans are unlawful because trade policy falls under EU jurisdiction, and last year reportedly considered legal action against the countries, though no steps have been taken to date. Karin Karlsbro, the European Parliament’s rapporteur on EU-Ukraine trade, told Euractiv she “deeply regrets” Hungary’s choice to maintain the “unlawful import ban.”

Kiev has not yet issued a comment on the move. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has criticized the bans on multiple occasions.

While Magyar ran his campaign on pledges of closer ties with the EU, a number of moves indicate policy continuity with Orban’s administration. Magyar has opposed speeding up Ukraine’s EU membership process and kept Hungary out of the bloc’s latest Ukraine funding initiative.

However, he signaled that the EU’s new Ukraine aid package would not be blocked and softened the government’s stance on social issues by appointing Judit Lannert – referred to by media outlets as Hungary’s “first LGBT activist” – as education minister.