The Hungarian poultry sector must participate in disciplined integration

(Photo: AM/Tibor Vermes)

István Nagy said at the handover of the Bács-Tak group’s waterfowl rearing farm in Bácsalmás: all resources are available for the rebirth of the poultry sector in Hungary. The government’s goal is to make the sector competitive on the world market, he emphasized. He drew attention to the fact that, in addition to integration, development is also needed in order for the sector to “respond” to the challenges of the changing world and animal health difficulties. István Nagy reminded: in 2021, the government announced its agricultural and food industry development program within the framework of the rural development program, which pays special attention to livestock farms, including poultry farms. In the poultry sector, the government supported more than 400 applications with a total of almost HUF 180 billion – the minister detailed. He added that in 2020, a call for tenders was also published to support the development of livestock farms, within the framework of which a total of more than HUF 400 billion in support was received by entrepreneurs. The Bács-Tak group was also the winner of this tender, which received HUF 2.4 billion in support, half of the investment just handed over was financed from the support. “We are at the moment of renewing Hungarian agriculture, the farmers should take advantage of the tender opportunities” – emphasized the minister, then added: until 2027, almost HUF 2,900 billion are still available, and the Hungarian government will increase the EU rural development support of HUF 600 billion by an additional HUF 2,300 billion adds HUF. Gábor Bányai, the region’s Fidesz parliamentary representative and government commissioner for regional development, stated that agricultural professionals represent one of the world’s most important causes: they produce healthy food. He added: there is a need for such companies, new goals and development opportunities must always be sought. The government will have the resources to develop any part of the Hungarian economy – stated the government commissioner. István Kiss, the head of the Bács-Tak group of companies, said that twenty 1,500-square-meter sheds were created on the site with the investment. In 2024, their plans will keep a total of 12 million waterfowl at the company’s premises, he added.

Bács-Tak is one of Hungary’s leading waterfowl breeders, producers and sellers, which works in closed, vertical integration

This means that everything from the production of compound feed, through poultry rearing and processing, to sales, is carried out by the companies belonging to the group. The company group carries out its activities in Southern Hungary at a total of 17 sites and, depending on the period, has contractual relationships with around 50-100 wage earners. It has a total of almost 500 employees and, depending on the period, employs 150-200 temporary workers. The group processes and sells nearly 30,000 tons of roast duck and broiler goose every year, nearly two-thirds of which is exported, including to Western Europe. The group has been operating in its current form since 2007. According to publicly available company data, the group’s net sales in 2022 exceeded HUF 20 billion, just like in 2021. The company’s profit after tax was HUF 1.74 billion in 2022, and HUF 1.97 billion in 2021.

MTI