Hungarian food sours relations between Economy and Agriculture Ministers

The Economy Ministry signed an agreement with the Hungary government on abolishing custom duties on Hungarian meat and wheat import from October 15. The Agriculture Ministry was shocked to hear this and say that they knew nothing about it, but are now very concerned about what impact it will have on the agricultural market. Deputy Agriculture Minister Jerzy Plewa only came to hear about the agreement by chance during an official visit to Bratislava when Infrastructure Minister Marek Pol revealed the information at a press conference to Slovakian journalists. Plewa immediately called Agriculture Minister Jaroslaw Kalinowski, who in an angry mood held a press conference, saying that he would ask the Cabinet to deal with the matter It is also possible that Prime Minister Leszek Miller was unaware of the agreement. Kalinowski said that cancelling customs duties on products where the government has to intervene to prop up prices is a decision that cannot be understood, and is fearful of negative consequences for the state budget. Meanwhile, Economy Minister Jacek Piechota denied that the agreement had been signed without the prior knowledge and consent from Kalinowski. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 1, 2) A.D.