“The Hungarian agrarian industry fully conforms to the strategic goals of industrial development, for example Hungarian raw materials are available for its activities, as is the technical and technological knowledge and expertise required for its development”, the Minister of State for Economic Development and Regulation at the Ministry for National Economy said on Thursday in Budapest.

Speaking at a community agricultural marketing conference organised by Hungarian Tourism Ltd, Mr. István Lepsényi told those present that the country’s self-sufficiency with regard to basic foodstuffs could be raised from the current level of 120 percent to 150 percent via the rational and sustainable development of production potential, which could make Hungarian food production an important factor on the European market. This would also result in a significant increase in exports, he added, noting that it was also important to ensure a local living and existence for the country’s rural population.

According to the Minister of State, within the field of industrial development the Government also continues to reinforce the principle that exports of products that include a high added value should be increased, as opposed to exporting simple raw materials. In addition to competitive small enterprises, the administration also wishes to provide support to Hungarian-owned medium-sized enterprises to enable them to apply state-of-the-art technical equipment and technologies.

Minister of State for Agricultural Economy György Czerván from the Ministry of Agriculture spoke about the fact that community agricultural marketing is becoming an increasingly important part of agriculture and the food industry.
The basis of the idea is that businesses and organisations participating in the cooperation should appear on domestic and foreign markets with their products and services together and with a joint image, rather than independently. Mr. Czerván also said that the Ministry of Agriculture was helping the work of Hungarian Tourism’s agricultural marketing directorate by applying lasting marketing tools. As an example, he cited the fact that long-term marketing support for Hungarian pork was launched in 2013, towards which 670 million forints (EUR 2.13M) in funding has been successfully applied for during the past three years. The programme is continuing this year with a forecast expenditure of 200 million forints.

The Minister of State also mentioned efforts to promote the consumption of Hungarian milk and milk products; 420 million forints (EUR 1.35M) have been spent so far on the relative consumer promotion campaign, which was launched in 2015.

Hungarian Tourism Ltd.’s deputy head of agricultural marketing György Lipcsey told reporters that agriculture experts at the conference would be presented with details about the National Agricultural Marketing Programme for the period 2016-2018. The tasks set conform to both the previously adopted Food Industry Development Strategy and the Community Agricultural Marketing Code adopted last week, he indicated.

According to Mr. Lipcsey, the contents of the National Agricultural Marketing Programme will be discussed with trade organisations by the end of April. 2-3 billion forints (EUR 6.4-9.5M) will be spent on the Programme each year, meaning a total budget of 6-7 billion forints (EUR 19-22M) over a period of three years. Financing would be provided from both EU and national resources. Promotion activities will especially centre on meat, milk, fish, bio and eco products, wine, pálinka, cereals and honey, the Deputy CEO said.

(MTI)