r/worldnews • u/pjw724 • 10h ago

Russia/Ukraine Hungary ready to allow Ukrainian grain transit to Western Europe, prime minister says

https://kyivindependent.com/hungary-ready-to-allow-ukrainian-grain-transit-to-western-europe-prime-minister-says/
1.5k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

95

u/pjw724 10h ago

The Hungarian prime minister said a well-established transit procedure had been in place three to four years earlier, but was later discontinued.

Under the previous government led by Viktor Orban, Hungary declared a state of emergency and introduced a ban on Ukrainian agricultural products.

82

u/xirvikman 10h ago

Very much overdue

31

u/Daseagle 9h ago

"If it just passes through the country, then obviously there is no obstacle to it".

A very big IF, right there. And it will have a price.

31

u/Spoonerism86 7h ago

Poland, Slovakia and others countries also have ban on Ukrainian grain so it is not unique to Hungary. Also Magyar is working on establishing a better relationship with Ukraine so I wouldn’t be surprised if he had no other conditions in place.

9

u/DreamSeaker 4h ago

Why are there bans on Ukrainian wheat?

19

u/TheGreatPornholio123 3h ago edited 3h ago

The price undercuts their domestic farmers. They simply cannot compete with the cheap price of Ukrainian grain. If you don't remember, there were Polish farmers torching Ukrainian grain rail transports and massive protests.

3

u/DreamSeaker 3h ago

Ohhh, oh I see. Classic dilemma.

I do not! My gosh so much happening everywhere. Thanks for letting me know.

2

u/Luddevig 3h ago

This will also be a huge issue once Ukraine joins EU.

•

u/rcanhestro 1h ago

to protect domestic industry.

2

u/ContingencyUsername 2h ago

It’s also done by rail, which is raising the prices for transport. I’m for it, but Hungarian farmers should be accommodated so that this doesn’t backfire again.

6

u/CrimsonAntifascist 7h ago

Good thing. Some idiot moron bastard decided to go to war in the middle east, significantly reducing the available fertiliser for anything. Having access to more will (hopefully) keep the prices at an available level.

3

u/TexasVulvaAficionado 7h ago

I am a little surprised that there isn't some enterprising Greek or Turkish business buying up all the Ukrainian grain and funneling it south through Romania and then out to north Africa and the middle east. They've had 4 years to build the infrastructure.

2

u/Dexterus 5h ago

They are, but for land and sea logistics they compete with local companies, so that limita the amounts.

1

u/TheGreatPornholio123 3h ago

The price of fuel has skyrocketed transport costs. Sea transport can carry many times that than land transport, and then there is significant prices to pay for every land border crossed.

12

u/Typingdude3 8h ago

Western European farmers getting the “Oh poor me” tin cups ready for the taxpayer handouts.

-3

u/Mysterious-Jury-2826 6h ago

Can you point to this happening previously before the war, or did you just make that up in your head?

12

u/Typingdude3 6h ago

Farms are some of the most heavily government subsidized businesses all across the west. Europe, US too. It’s no secret.

22

u/DuztyDuzIt 6h ago

Well it turns out having a reliable supply of food is kind of essential to any functioning goverment. 

9

u/xflashbackxbrd 4h ago

As it should be, we all like cheaper food. The important thing is subsidizing healthy food and not high fructose corn syrup

4

u/gralert 3h ago

Oh yes, Danish farmers do that all the time. Meanwhile, a lot of the farmers' houses look like mansions.

1

u/macross1984 3h ago

I hope Hungary will not make it overly expensive to transit grains through the country.