Hungary-EU Should Extend Grain Restrictions Beyond 15 Sep

Wires reporting comments from Gergely Gulyas, chief of staff to Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, calling on the EU to extend restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports beyond 15 September. Gulyas states that if the EU does not do so then Budapest is ready to impose its own import restrictions.

• Earlier in the summer, Hungary's Agriculture Minister Zsolt Feldman calledfor an extension on EU import curbs until at least end-2023.
• An informal meeting of the EU's agriculture ministers takes place in Córdoba, Spain from 3-5 September, with restrictions on Ukrainian grain likely to feature prominently in discussions.
• Russian missile attacks continue to target Ukraine's ports on the Danube, the last resort for grain exports following the cancellation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. A strike on 23 August put 15% of the port of Izmail out of action while destroying 13k metric tonnes of grain.
• The demands of Hungary, Poland, and other eastern EU members puts Brussels in a difficult position. While wanting to support the Ukrainian economy, the EU also does not want to damage the agriculture sector within its own borders or risk schisms between member states that could arise from unilateral actions such as import restrictions.