From 19 April, Hungary banned agricultural imports from Ukraine, as well as imports of oilseeds, poultry, eggs and honey. The temporary restriction is scheduled to last until 30 June.
Carriers transporting such goods must prove the origin of the goods and if they cannot prove that they are not transporting Ukrainian goods, they will be fined the value of the goods.
The only exception is for transit shipments if the goods being shipped originate in Ukraine. The restriction does not apply to vehicles but to products, so it does not matter whether the car is coming from Ukraine. Transit shipments are goods that leave the country by the end of the seventh day from the day of import. Upon entry, the driver must prove that he is carrying out a transit transport. A declaration by the transport company or the driver is not sufficient to prove this, an official document will be required. Once the declaration has been made, an official seal is affixed to the cargo hold, which must remain intact until the goods leave the country.
The following products are also included in the EKÁER system as products at risk: cereals (wheat, rye, barley, maize), rapeseed, oilseed rape seed, sunflower seed. In the future, the transport of these products will also be subject to the payment of a risk security by undertakings on the list of taxable persons exempt from public liability.
The reason for the embargo is that Ukrainian products are too cheap, and the already struggling European agriculture, in order to keep farmers in business, deliberately keeps prices high, and imposes tariffs and restrictions to prevent cheap goods from entering the internal market, because this dumping would destroy European farmers.
Strict controls are expected, the routes of blocked transit consignments are likely to be followed and the fines imposed in case of irregularities can be up to 100% of the value of the goods.
The full list of products subject to the import ban can be found in the relevant article of the Hungarian Gazette:
Source: Fuvarlevél Magazine
