Hungarian farmers, following their Polish counterparts, are preparing protests on the border with Ukraine

Budapest, Hungary (Svidomi) — Hungarian farmers have planned a protest at the Záhony — Chop border crossing on February 9 against the European Commission's decision to extend duty-free imports of Ukrainian products for another year, Telex reports. 

The Regenerative Farmers Association of Hungary said they "have to compete with products that do not meet EU requirements".

Minister of Agriculture István Nagy believes the European Commission's proposal for duty-free trade with Ukraine "does not offer any solutions to the problems of Ukrainian grain imports".

According to him, Hungary intends to maintain its national ban on imports from Ukraine until it finds an "equivalent international solution".

On February 2, Polish farmers also announced protests on Ukraine's border. The protest will last from February 9 to March 10. 

On January 31, the European Commission officially proposed to extend the duty-free regime for exports from Ukraine for a year until mid-2025. However, it is not as liberal as in the previous two years and considers the specifics of EU farmers. The new autonomous trade measures provide quotas on the most sensitive products — poultry, eggs, and sugar. If imports of these products exceed the average annual import volumes for 2022 and 2023, they will be subject to duties. The European Parliament and the Council of the EU are to consider the European Commission's proposal.