Hungary: The effects of the import restrictions on the meat industry

Ministry: Import declaration obligation protects Hungarian agriculture

The government’s new import declaration measure “protects Hungary’s agriculture industry”, informed the Ministry of Agriculture the MTI news agency.

We have reported last week (link here) that the government had introduced a new import control measure, a declaration obligation for any imported good, (both from outside the EU and from other EU member states) that falls into the categories listed in the import restriction for agricultural goods from Ukraine.

In the recent press release which various news portals, including AgroTrend.hu, published, the Ministry of Agriculture states that “The agriculture sector is affected by both the war and Brussels' pro-war policies. Therefore, the government is assisting agriculture with new measures affecting imports, alongside the ban on Ukrainian agricultural product imports.”

Furthermore, the press release adds that, “With this step, a toolbox necessary for the complete protection of the Hungarian market from Ukrainian imports is available. Since Brussels is not taking any action to protect European agriculture and has actually completely opened the EU borders to Ukraine, the Hungarian government is implementing national measures to strive for the establishment of fair market conditions.”

Meat sector experts weigh in on the new import control measure

The news portal Agrárszektor.hu has interviewed experts from the meat industry on the import declaration situation. As the portal mentions, fresh, chilled or frozen pork products are on the import control list.

Gábor Fitos, president of the Hungarian Association of Pig Farmers and Pig Breeders has told the portal that Ukraine relies on imports of pork as they are not self-sufficient, and due to African swine fever, they are on the list of banned exports in many countries. This is because the country’s pig sector had been devastated by ASF, many pig farms fell victim to the livestock epidemic, which the Ukrainian authorities couldn’t stop. Tamás Éder, president of the Meat Alliance also confirmed that they do not know of substantive pork import from the country to Hungary, and that due to ASF, Ukraine “can export almost nowhere in the first place.” The expert highlighted that Ukraine has “around 5 million pigs, with an annual slaughter figure of 8 million, the Hungarian figure has been 4.5-4.7 million heads for years.” Most of the pork imported to Hungary comes from Germany, Spain, Poland and Slovakia, according to Mr. Éder, who adds that Hungary’s trade balance of pork meat has been balanced for the most part in the last 5-8 years, with a margin of 20 to 30 thousand tons in either direction.

According to Mr. Éder, in effect the current measure the declaration obligation is an administrative burden for importers, however, the will be data is duplicated as it already has to be submitted in the Electronic Public Procurement System (EKR). Mr. Éder concluded that this obligation is an administrative burden which will generate extra costs for operators in the business. “It’s not a huge cost we’re talking about but right now, every forint counts,” adds the expert.

Honey production hit hard by weather

24.hu reports that this year’s specific weather conditions proved to be devastating for Hungarian beekeepers. While the warm weather in March led to earlier flowering in many plant species, the current cold weather hit in the middle of the flowering period. This led to honeybees’ productivity declining as the insects are barely able to leave their hives. The portal cites an interview with a beekeeper who reported that this season will not see much acacia honey, and rapeseed honey will also be scarce. Sunflower honey still has a chance however, as the flowering of the crop is to come later in the season.

The portal has recently reported that the influx of cheap Chinese honey onto the European market, rather than Ukrainian honey, is the blight of Hungarian apiculture, as the import drastically depressed honey prices on the common market, almost cutting producer prices in half.

In February, we reported on the government removing honey from the list of restricted Ukrainian agricultural products, with which many beekeepers were unhappy.

Cold weather brings rain and frost

The Hungarian meteorological service reported on Tuesday that the cooling that has started last week brough both night frosts as well as increased precipitation. The rains were much needed in the Great Plains. In the uppermost 20 cm-layer of the topsoil moisture increased in many places last week, and in much of the country, moisture also reached the middle soil layer. The central part of the Great Plain remains dry. Fortunately, significant precipitation is expected nationwide in the coming period, exceeding 10 mm in large parts of the country, and in some places, exceeding even over 20 mm.

On the other hand, the cooling brought cold snaps as well. The news portal Agrárszektor.hu reported on Thursday that a frosty morning had dawned on Hungary, with subzero temperatures in many places around the country, causing issues for plant cultivation. The news portal also reported that warmer weather is expected in the weekend, so the planting of saplings can finally start.

Aquaculture faces labor shortage, foreign workers might be needed

Agrárszektor.hu reports that despite low feed costs and good water levels, aquaculture is still facing structural issues. These include low subsidy levels, a lack of investments into developments, decreasing consumption, and severe labor shortage. The portal reports that foreign workers might aid in the latter issue, however, the practice is alien to the sector. Ferenc Lévai, spokesperson of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Organization (MA-HAL) has told the portal that input costs are low and the adequate water levels will enable fisheries to withstand a hot summer and retain most of their water. The labor shortage is severe however. In some cases, fisheries that are several hundred hectares in size are unable to scrape together a skeleton staff of 5-6 people to continue operations. “Like it or not, sooner or later, we will have to employ guest workers ourselves because, even though the industry aims for automation, we physically cannot solve everything in fishing with technology,” the expert told the portal.

New, invasive bug found in Hungary

HelloVidék.hu reported recently that an invasive stink bug species has been spotted in Hungary. Perillus bioculatus, the double-eyed soldier bug or two-spotted stink bug is a predator, and was previously unsuccessfully introduced in Europe, including in Hungary, in order to fight another invasive species, the Colorado potato beetle. The bugs are suspected to have survived in small populations in the Mediterranean, from which refuges, they have went on to colonize the continent with the advent of climate change. Their potential effect of Hungary’s ecosystems are not yet known.

Due to its importance as a biocontrol agent and being an invasive species with unknown ecological impacts, the Plant Protection Institute of Hun-Ren ATK aims to learn as much as possible about its spread and its role in domestic ecosystems. The researchers intend to rely on citizen science to get more data. They welcome observations and reports on sightings at hemiptera@atk.hun-ren.hu.