Answer

2009 was a special year not only in Hungary, but all over Europe. In each significant fruit growing country fruit harvest was abundant, in terms of both quality and quantity. From a meteorological point of view, it was a really good year, but because of the economic conditions, consumer and sectorial demand are falling. This year, fruits grown in Hungary are of excellent quality and make perfect base material; unfortunately, they are available at the price level of 2008. This is an unfavourable for growers, because in these conditions they were unable to sell 100 percent of their yield. SIÓ-ECKES Kft. is one of the biggest buyers of peach, apricot and pear. This year, we produced 10,000 tons of fruit pulp so far, which is about the same volume as in 2008. This year we managed to export fruit pulp to Germany and we are proud to tell that the base material SIÓ-ECKES sold was classified into the highest category. Economic recession hit the sector hard and the market contracted by 10 percent. Another problem for branded product manufacturers is that they are losing ground against private label products. Economic recession is also changing the face of retail. In the first eight months of 2009, certain retail chains came up with solutions which, in my opinion, are not the best. This shows how important it is to reconsider partnership agreements. It seems to me that the main dangers are the defencelessness of small companies and the receivables of large companies. Constant innovation and renewal are the keys for keeping market positions: product innovation, adapting distribution, communication and management tools to the changed situation. One advantage of recession is that the management is forced to review the efficiency of the company and its strategies. SIÓ-ECKES has always been able to reinvent itself and in line with this, we have realised two substantial developments in 2009: we modernised SIÓ Fresh&Fruit products and started bottling SIÓ Prémium products into aseptic PET bottles. SIÓ equals fruits: this is what we keep in mind when working on our innovations. However, a product also needs effective communication and distribution to be present on the market. In order to strengthen our distribution activity, a few years ago we started cooperating with Szentkirályi Ásványvíz Kft. and Büki Üdítő Kft. Our motto is: “Everything that is a fruit, is also SIÓ.”