Biznes Fakty
Orban's U-turn on the embargo on Polish products
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has declared the end of Hungary’s embargo on Polish meat, animal products, and feed. This decision, which was previously enacted through a decree from Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was a response to the ban on importing these items from Hungary, introduced due to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in that nation.
The Hungarian regulation issued on May 8 indicated that the prohibition on importing animals and meat from Poland, along with Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Romania, was a reciprocal action to the limitations previously set by these nations in relation to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Hungary. Although the document suggests that Poland and the other nations blocked the import of Hungarian meat to safeguard their own animals, the Hungarian Prime Minister deemed this an „unlawful trade restriction” and viewed the actions of these countries as an „artificial obstruction of international trade.”
Hungarian embargo lifted
The Hungarian ban has now been rescinded. „The Crisis Management Team affirms that the Hungarian embargo placed on Poland on May 8 of this year, which resulted in a prohibition on the import of cloven-hoofed animals, products derived from these animals, and feed from our country, was lifted on May 18 of this year,” the Ministry of Agriculture stated in a release on Tuesday.
The ministry noted that this development is the outcome of the intervention by Minister of Agriculture, Czesław Siekierski, who, in a recent letter to Olivér Várhelyi, the EU Commissioner for Animal Health and Welfare, requested the European Commission’s involvement regarding the restrictions imposed on Poland by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Poland free of foot-and-mouth disease and bird flu
The Ministry emphasized that there is no presence of foot-and-mouth disease in Poland, and there are no indications of potential virus transmission within the country. Slovakia and Hungary also report no new infections. According to the announcement, since May 2, there have been no new cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) reported in Poland.
„We would like to remind you that for the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI), the period of greatest risk (when the virus can easily enter poultry farms) is during the autumn-winter-spring timeframe, with the highest number of outbreaks typically occurring cyclically from October to April (coinciding with wild bird migrations). Given the nature of HPAI occurrences in Poland and other affected countries, it can be inferred that we are experiencing a trend of reduced infections, and the new illness season may commence in autumn, potentially leading to outbreaks early next year,” the ministry highlighted.
It also noted that African swine fever (ASF) has only been identified in wild boars (with 2,101 outbreaks confirmed to date). „We remind you of the necessity to strictly adhere to biosecurity protocols on breeding farms; the upcoming summer agricultural activities and increased movement in forests heighten the risk of ASF virus transmission from the wild to farms and breeding operations,” it stated.
Foot-and-mouth disease in Hungary
The FMD epidemic in Hungary began in early April; these were the first instances in the nation since 1973. Among the measures taken by the authorities to curb the disease spread was a ban on importing animals to areas where FMD outbreaks had occurred, with their export limited to a designated slaughterhouse. The police were involved in monitoring farms. These actions were coordinated with authorities in Slovakia, where FMD outbreaks were also reported.
Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly infectious viral ailment that poses significant risks to animals; however, it does not threaten human health.
