The food industry is a natural ally of Hungarian agriculture

(Photo: AM/Csaba Pelsőczy)

At the handover ceremony of the wheat bran-based feed supplement pelleting plant of Júlia-Malom Kft., József Viski emphasized: it is important for Hungarian agriculture that the food industry relies on Hungarian raw materials to the greatest extent possible, because this is also necessary for farmers to be able to provide an appropriate response to market challenges and to be able to maintain and even strengthen their competitiveness. Júlia-Malom Kft. received a grant of 1.15 billion forints for its investment of approximately 2.2 billion forints, of which 437 million forints were used to establish the bran pellet production plant that has just been completed, through which the company will further process the feed bran that has already been produced and market it with added value – he explained. The state secretary said that the government is constantly working to ensure that the country achieves the greatest possible economic growth despite negative external factors such as the regional impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war, unpredictable climatic conditions or increasingly frequent animal and plant diseases. “That is why we announced the 100 new factory program, which we have now increased to 150, since the recovery of industry and the strengthening of investment activity are key,” he emphasized, adding that this program plays a significant role in increasing the performance of the economy, while also supporting businesses and job creation. “That is why we announced the 100 new factory program, which we have now increased to 150, since the recovery of industry and the strengthening of investment activity are key,” he emphasized, adding that this program plays a significant role in increasing the performance of the economy, while also supporting businesses and job creation. As he said, 43 of the 150 factories are food and processing industry enterprises, which are supported from the previous or current agricultural support cycle. Of these, 6 enterprises received 22 billion forints from the now-closing Rural Development Program, and another 28 received support from the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), for a total of 128 billion forints. Since agriculture and the food industry are interdependent in many respects, the government has been paying attention to strengthening processing capacities for some time now, the State Secretary emphasized. He recalled that one of the main goals of the Rural Development Program launched in 2014 was to improve rural living conditions in order to increase the population retention capacity of the countryside and, within this framework, to prioritize support for labor-intensive sectors such as animal husbandry, horticulture, crop production or food processing. Thanks to this, the Ministry of Agriculture decided to support 1,300 food processing plants in the past 10 years, he said. “Out of the total of approximately 3,000 billion forints spent on rural development, more than 310 billion forints was the amount with which we contributed to strengthening our food self-sufficiency in Hungary, and this enabled approximately 700 billion forints of development in Hungary in the past decade,” he underlined.

The government continues to view the food industry as a strategic sector in the current EU budget cycle

The Rural Development Program will provide more than 5,400 billion forints of support to Hungarian agriculture and the food industry in the current 7-year EU budget cycle. Within this framework, the tender for nearly 500 billion forints of support intended for the food industry began last year, and so far a decision has been made to award 302 billion forints of support for the development of larger food industry plants and about 40 billion forints of support for smaller applicants – said József Viski. Johann Tiemens, one of the managing directors of Júlia-Malom Kft., recalled that they dreamed of building the first mill in a wheat field more than 20 years ago. The facility, which has now developed into a European-level milling plant, supplies farmers and local producers with 3 million tons of grain annually. Attila Csontos, the kft. another managing director recalled that they chose Kunszállás from a logistical point of view, as it can be considered the middle of the country. He recalled that they handed over the second mill in 2006, and then the third mill two years later. Later, they built silos twice, so they continuously expanded the business. Csaba Bernáth, also managing director of Júlia-Malom Kft., spoke about how predictable, business-friendly regulations and targeted food industry subsidies contributed greatly to achieving their goals and developments. As he said, their operation is characterized by the fact that, in addition to installing the most modern technology available, they purchase and process exclusively Hungarian raw materials. More than seventy-five percent of their markets are also Hungarian, he added.

It was announced at the event that the pellet plant – which is part of a series of investments – was established as a result of cooperation with Vitafort Zrt., headquartered in Dabas

Ádám Csontos, technical director of Júlia-Malom Kft., explained that during pelleting, mineral and vitamin mixtures and premixes provided by Vitafort Zrt. are added to the by-product they produce, wheat bran, thus improving its shelf life, storage and handling. The finished products produced in this way serve as supplementary feed. Zoltán Kulik, CEO of Vitafort Zrt., said that during their cooperation with Júlia-Malom Kft., they will produce four products of a product family. “We were thinking of a product that would provide a solid foundation for maintaining cattle health and achieving good production results,” he added.

AM/MTI