The new, uniform system of foreign economic governance functions well, the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Friday in Budapest.

Evaluating the year 2014 at a meeting with the press, László Szabó said that all three pillars of the system – the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA), Eximbank and the network of the national trading houses – had a successful year. HIPA completed 60 investment projects, Eximbank, a financial institution supporting the export of small and medium-sized enterprises, granted loans worth HUF 327 billion, while the national trading houses, of which 25 have already started to operate and 50 will have been operating by the end of the year all over the world, are currently managing more than 400 pending transactions.

"We are envied by many in Europe because they can see that what Hungary has been doing, albeit using unconventional means at times, is working”, he said. He explained that the campaign “Let’s export!” (Exportra fel!) continues, whereby small and medium-sized enterprises are encouraged to enter foreign markets. Under the programme, Eximbank will open further branches in five other towns in the countryside in addition to those in Győr, Nagykanizsa, Miskolc and Kecskemét.

According to the calculations of Eximbank, the activities of the credit institution have increased Hungary’s net exports by HUF 252 billion, and generated tax revenue worth HUF 74 billion. Eximbank has entered into transaction with its 500th client since the launch of the current structure in May 2012, László Szabó noted.

The Parliamentary State Secretary said that the network of 25 trading houses, which is currently operating on four continents, covers the most important export markets outside the European Union. Currently, more than two thousand enterprises can be found in the database of the Trading House. The network enables even the smallest enterprise to successfully enter foreign markets. Typically premium quality consumer products – primarily food and agricultural products – can be sold in this way.

Hungarian wine can be sold in China at a higher price than in Western-Europe, and Hungarian chocolate, for example, is market leader in Mongolia, László Szabó said, presenting the 2014 results of Hungary’s foreign trade.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)