BUDAPEST: Half of Hungary’s grain storage capacity is available ahead of the harvest, sufficient to store this summer’s domestic production, the agriculture ministry said on Friday.
In April Hungary imposed a unilateral import ban on Ukrainaian grain, fearing that a cheap influx of crops would drive down prices and take up warehouse space before the summer harvest.
Poland, Bulgaria and Slovakia also imposed unilateral bans, but these have since been replaced by restrictions set by the European Commission. The Hungarian agriculture ministry estimates that 52% of the country’s storage capacity of about 20 million to 22 million tonnes is available to accommodate the summer harvest, which is expected to be around 7 million tonnes this year.
The ministry said that warehouses would usually be empty in May. That they are 52% full means that “sufficient quantities” of raw materials are available for industrial processors, it added.
The statement also said that Hungary’s first-quarter grain exports were down 35% from the average of the past five years owing to drought and weaker external demand.
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