Government Modifies Grain Export Restrictions

The Hungarian government on Saturday amended its March 5 decree on the export of "strategically important" agricultural products, adding durum wheat and hulless sunflower seeds to the list of restricted crops and clarifying that cereals can still be freely exported as seeds, the Hungarian Gazette reports.

The range of crops concerned has been extended to include durum wheat with sunflower seeds with and without strips listed separately. The amendment also clarifies that the sale of these crops as seed is not subject to the notification requirement and can be exported.

The export restriction is in fact a right of first refusal by the ttate. The export of cereals must be reported in advance to the National Food Chain Safety Office. The state has 30 days to exercise its right of first refusal or purchase.

The range of raw materials or products of strategic importance:

Wheat and bivalve, except seed

Durum wheat, except seed

Rye, excluding seed

Barley, excluding seed

Oats, excluding seed

Maize (excluding seed)

Soya beans, whether or not broken, other than for sowing

Sunflower seeds, grey and white-striped, with or without shell, other than for sowing

Other sunflower seeds, other than for sowing

The government introduced the export restriction on March5 on the grounds of the Russian-Ukrainian war and the price increase due to the loss of Ukrainian grain stocks. Hungary is a grain-exporting country, producing far more than its domestic needs.