“The work of the Hungarian people is the guarantor of the success of the Hungarian economy, not international loans that lead to indebtedness”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday in Baja at an event to present bakery and confectionery products and basic materials producer Nébar Limited with its certificate for the 282 million forints (EUR 815 thousand) in state funding it is receiving within the framework of the competitiveness-increasing program with relation to its 665-million-forint (EUR 1.92 million) development project.

Mr. Szijjártó declared that the development projects being realised now are assuring that Hungary can acquire a competitive advantage with respect to other countries and other economies. “For this reason, the whole nation owes a debt of gratitude to enterprises that are realising investment projects in the current climate. 806 enterprises in Hungary have committed themselves to realising 377 billion forints (EUR 1.09 billion) in investment, towards which the government is providing 169 billion forints (EUR 488.5 million) in state funding within the framework of the competitiveness-increasing program, as a result of which over 143 thousand workplaces are being successfully protected”, he added.

“The Hungarian food industry is a particularly innovative sector of industry that is competitive at international level, and which has major traditions and a huge heritage in Hungary. The largest number of funding applications arrived from this sector”, the Minister emphasised. “The capacity-increasing development projects being realised by milling industry and durable foods producer Nébar Limited is also important because it will lead to a further increase in the export performance of the Hungarian economy, in view of the fact that the company’s products are sought after in Western Europe, the United States and Israel”, he stated.

Mr. Szijjártó said that 42 enterprises from Bács-Kiskun County are realising a total of 20 billion forints (EUR 57.8 million) in investment within the framework of the competitiveness-increasing program, towards which the government is providing 9.8 billion forints (EUR 28.3 million) in state funding, enabling the protection of 6700 workplaces. “Over the past ten years, industrial production in the region has quadrupled, and the rate of unemployment has fallen from 11 percent to under 4.5 percent”, the Minister explained.

The region’s Member of Parliament, and the Ministry of Agriculture’s Minister of State for Food Chain Supervision Róbert Zsigó told reporters: “These past months have confirmed that the Hungarian food industry is a strategic sector, and the government is doing everything possible to support the industry during the period of the epidemic. This is how we can assure that the raw materials produced by Hungary’s farmers can find their way onto the tables of Hungarian families as healthy, safe and high-quality foods that are processed in a suitable manner”. “The competitiveness-increasing program is one of the government’s economy protection measures, and was launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the interests of preserving and creating jobs”, he pointed out.

Managing Director of Nébar Ltd. András Tóth told the press that the 25-year old family business realised a 17 percent increase in its turnover last year, compared to the previous year. The company launched a product development project during the coronavirus epidemic, while retaining all of its staff, and following a four-month slowdown is now once again producing at full capacity. Thanks to the government funding, the company will be constructing a modern plant at its current site, increasing its capacity and realising technological development, thanks to which it will be able to expand its product profile and also begin producing crackers, flavoured products and seed pastes. According to publicly available company data, Nébar Limited, which employ 34 people, realised 506 million forints (EUR 1.46 million) in net turnover in 2018, with after-tax profits of 43 million forints (EUR 125 thousand).

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)