International Green Week (IGW), the world’s largest agriculture, food industry and horticulture expo, opened in Berlin on Friday; this year the event’s guest of honour is once again Hungary.
In view of its exclusive partner country status, the expo was opened in the Hungarian pavilion; the ribbon was cut by Minister of Agriculture Sándor Fazekas, together with his German counterpart, Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture Christian Schmidt, and Mayor of Berlin Michael Müller.
“33 exhibitors are showcasing themselves in the 1700 square meter Hungarian pavilion, presenting natural, high quality and GMO-free foods”, the Minister said.
“The exhibitors are also expecting to acquire new business opportunities”, Mr. Fazekas added at the international press conference following the opening ceremony, pointing out that Germany is the largest foreign market for Hungarian agricultural products and foods, and that according to preliminary estimates Hungarian exports to Germany reached 1.3 billion euros last year, a 50 percent increase compared to five years ago.
Agricultural output represents 4.7 percent of Hungary’s GDP and contributed 0.6 percentage points to last year’s 2.1 percent GDP growth, which is more that the contribution of the machinery and automobile industries, he highlighted.
Mr. Fazekas also stressed that Hungary was the first country in the world to include in its Constitution the fact that it is illegal to use genetically modified organisms in public cultivation, and accordingly at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), which will be held for the ninth time this year on the sidelines of the IGW, and the main topic of which is the relationship between agriculture and access to water, he will be representing the standpoint that promoting the use of GMOs must not be used as a solution to water scarcity.
The summit of agriculture ministers is also an indication of the fact that the IGW is an important forum for agricultural diplomacy, with relation to which Mr. Fazekas told the press that he will be holding bilateral talks with, amongst others, his counterparts from Holland, Estonia and Saudi Arabia, in addition to which he will be concluding an agreement with German Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture Christian Schmidt on cooperation with regard to the agricultural applications of digitalization, which is playing an increasingly important part in more and more areas of everyday life.
The IGW is being organised for the 82nd time this year. 1650 exhibitors from 66 countries are taking part in the expo on an area of 118 thousand square metres. According to the organisers, 400 thousand people are expected to visit the event, which lasts until 29 January, of whom 100 thousand are trade representatives. This is the 45th time that Hungary has taken part in the IGW, and after 2010 this is the second time that it has been awarded the title of exclusive partner country.