“Hungary has an interest in the alleviation of the Russian embargo and in its partial lifting with regard to agricultural products”, Ministerial Commissioner for economic measures relating to the Russian embargo Gyula Budai said in Szentes.
Speaking at a press conference organised by Hungarian poultry processing and production company Hungerit, Mr. Budai said Hungary would like EU Member States not to come to an automatic decision on the issue at the end of July, but for there instead to be a debate concerning to what extent the sanctions introduced have achieved their intended goals.
The sanctions, which were introduced in August 2014, have caused some 4.5 billion US Dollars in losses to the Hungarian economy, the greatest losers being the agriculture and food processing sectors, he told reporters.
The Hungarian standpoint is that a crisis cannot be solved through sanctions, he added.
The Ministerial Commissioner declared that Government measures aimed at alleviating the effects of the embargo, including the consolidation of internal markets and finding new, alternative markets, had been successful. The presence of the Hungarian food industry has increased significantly in Southern and Southeast Asia, and especially in Japan, Taiwan and Singapore, and they are also working on gaining access to the Thai market, he continued.
Mr. Budai stressed that the Russian market remains extremely important to Hungary, Hungarian companies regularly advertise at Russian food industry expos and several enterprises have been approved at food safety authority audits, meaning they could begin shipping their products as soon as the embargo is lifted.
Hungerit was the Hungarian food processing company most effected by the Russian embargo. The company exported 2137 tonnes of ducks and geese valued at 1.3 billion forints (EUR 4.2M) to Russia in 2013.
At the press conference, Chairman of the Board of Hungerit Plc. József Magyar said the company had managed to sell some of its products on domestic markets and in neighbouring countries. Exports to Hong Kong and Japan have increased significantly in recent years, and shipments to Taiwan have also begun.
Hungerit exports to 36 countries and the 30 thousand tonnes of products exported make up 20 billion forints (EUR 64.4M) out of the company’s total turnover of 50 billion forints (EUR 161M). Russian exports used to represent 4 percent of the company’s total turnover, he explained.
According to Mr. Magyar, returning to the Russian market will be a long process because several new slaughterhouses and poultry farms have been established in Russia recently, in addition to which the devaluation of the Rouble also poses a problem. However, Hungerit represents a level of quality and a trademark that deserves a place on the Russian market, he declared.
The company has the market and supply partners to achieve further development and accordingly the number of people employed by the company is expected to increase from its current level of 1200 to some 1600-1650 by the end of the year, Mr. Magyar announced.