Budapest, 16 April 2023 (dpa/MIA) — Following the example of Poland and Slovakia, Hungary has also temporarily banned grain imports from Ukraine due to allegations of market distortion.

"A continuation of the current market dynamics would cause such great damage to Hungarian agriculture that extraordinary measures must be taken to put a stop to them," the Ministry of Agriculture declared late Saturday.

The import ban applies to grain, oilseeds and other agricultural products. It is to remain in force until June 30.

According to the ministry, Ukrainian products are offered at such cheap prices due to production processes that are no longer permitted in the EU and also due to their duty-free status in the EU, that they distort market conditions in Hungary and other Central European countries.

On Saturday, Poland banned the import of grain from Ukraine on similar grounds. Slovakia had already banned the sale of Ukrainian wheat as food and animal feed on Friday, but cited the suspected pesticide content of the Ukrainian wheat.

As a result of the Russian war against Ukraine, the country no longer exports mainly via its own ports on the Black Sea, but also increasingly via its western neighbours.