The government is doing everything for the farmers

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In an interview published in the daily’s Monday issue, the head of the ministry said that the government has taken 20 measures to curb inflation and protect Hungarian families, which may slow down price increases as early as March. By the way, this is also predicted by market processes. Food inflation may soon peak. Thanks to the reduction in agricultural products and energy prices, there are products whose prices have already fallen in stores. István Nagy also said that the price cap protects the Hungarian population from price increases caused by Brussels sanctions. The measure will remain in place until we can put inflation on a downward path. Currently, that date is April 30.

He stated that there are no plans to advance the introduction of the regulation, the market is also preparing for this

He stated that fixing the price of basic foodstuffs did not serve market goals, but was a social measure that fulfilled its role, as the demand for price-fixed products increased by an average of twenty to eighty percent. In addition to the application of the price cap, in order to avoid product shortages, it was also necessary to oblige domestic stores to make the products affected by the food price cap available in sufficient quantities. The Minister of Agriculture rejected theories that price increases in retail trade were inevitable due to the price cap. The price fixing did not cause such a loss of income to the shops, which would have justified such a step. In addition, large store chains were easily able to compensate for the effects of the price cap thanks to their wide range of products, while rural and village small shops were at a disadvantage. The government therefore developed a support scheme for the smooth operation of smaller shops, which was also extended to butcher shops. In the tender, village shops can receive support of HUF 1-3 million, while butchers can receive up to HUF 3.5 million. There is still time to submit applications for butcher shops, consent can be requested until March 20, he said.

It was not easy to get the KAP accepted

Among other things, István Nagy spoke about how, after thorough preparations and long, difficult negotiations, the European Commission adopted Hungary’s Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan (KAP) last November. In the period until 2027, together with the EU funds and the outstanding 80% national budget contribution, we can provide HUF 5,300 billion more than ever before for the Hungarian countryside, farmers and food processing enterprises. More than half of the rural development resources, almost HUF 1,500 billion, will finance economic development, and more than HUF 1,000 billion will finance sustainability goals.
As he said, their goal is that by 2030 the productivity of agriculture should increase by one and a half times, the added value of our agricultural production should increase by two times, and the value of our agricultural and food exports should increase by fifty percent to 15 billion euros. With the efficient use of resources, processing agriculture is built alongside productive agriculture.

Farmers must submit uniform applications in April according to the new support rules

In this regard, the minister said: in order to inform farmers, experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Chamber of Agrarian Economy will tour the country, where those concerned will receive the necessary information about the essential elements of the new support system, the most important changes, and the deadlines. A new website has been launched, and the new system is explained practically in joint publications with the Chamber of Agriculture. They also train village farmers and advisers, whom farmers can confidently turn to. At the same time, the institutional, executive and IT preparations necessary for the implementation of the new support system are taking place, and the national legislation will also be published soon. Everyone involved is working to ensure that the submission of uniform applications can start in April as usual – said István Nagy.

MTI