While imports of Ukrainian grain into Hungary remain restricted, the volume of shipments passing through the country already increased in September, Világgazdaság reported.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture, 106,000 metric tons of grain and oilseeds were transported through Hungary in August, compared to 115,000 metric tons in September. This represents an increase of 8.5 percent. These figures were presented by Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotsky and published by the Odessa Journal on October 23. According to the minister, a further increase in Ukrainian grain shipments is possible, though he did not wish to provide any specific forecasts at this time.
However, growth in Hungary lagged behind that of the other two neighboring transit countries. In total, 558,000 metric tons of Ukrainian grain and oilseeds were transported through the three countries in September, 46.5 percent more than the previous month. The data also shows that Hungary was already part of the land transport routes for Ukrainian agricultural exports even before the talks between the heads of government of Hungary and Ukraine.
On October 16, at the EU summit in Brussels, the transit issue once again took center stage in Hungarian-Ukrainian relations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania for help in transporting Ukrainian grain to Western Europe, as Russian attacks are hindering operations at Black Sea ports.
Péter Magyar told RTL after a one-on-one meeting with the Ukrainian president that he saw no obstacles to transit through Hungary, provided the shipments did not enter the Hungarian market. Zelenskyy expressly urged that Ukrainian corn be transported through Hungary in sealed, tamper-proof railroad cars.
In contrast to the Hungarian prime minister’s statement, the Ministry of Agriculture has taken a more cautious stance. In an article published by Agroinform on October 22, the ministry clarified that there are currently no plans to amend transit regulations or introduce administrative simplifications.
The ministry emphasized that the controlled transit of Ukrainian grain through Hungary is already possible. Under Government Decree No. 91/2026 (dated May 22), shipments participating in transit traffic and falling under this regulation must be affixed with an official seal, and their traceability must be ensured. The ministry also stated that the use of transport options would, in principle, be left to the discretion of market participants.
According to the ministry, Hungary’s logistics infrastructure could facilitate the transport of up to several hundred thousand metric tons of Ukrainian agricultural products. However, this is merely a capacity estimate and not a forecast of the expected transport volume.
Péter Magyar has already raised the possibility of using this infrastructure in Hungary in one of his speeches in Parliament. The Ministry of Agriculture, however, has expressly denied that it is considering an expansion of transit.
The distinction is also significant from an economic perspective. Transit does not mean that Ukrainian grain is sold in Hungary; domestic processing or use as animal feed, on the other hand, would raise the issue of applicable import restrictions.
Due to this year’s extremely poor corn harvest, Hungary may have to rely on substantial imports. The situation is, however, contradictory: Easing import restrictions could lower raw material costs for feed manufacturers and livestock farmers, but corn producers fear that the influx of large quantities of Ukrainian grain would drive down domestic prices.
Wheat and corn from Ukraine could pose a threat to domestic producers even if Hungary’s import ban remains in place. This is because Ukrainian shipments are largely destined for the same Western and Southern European markets that have traditionally been key export destinations for Hungarian grain.
The situation on the European grain market is further complicated by the fact that this year’s harvest fell short of expectations in several countries. According to an August estimate by the European Commission, the EU’s corn harvest could total 50.1 million metric tons, which would mark a nearly twenty-year low. Hungary, for its part, became a net importer of corn in the first eight months of the year.
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Via Vg.hu; Featured photo: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt
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