AM: with the support of the government, the administration of the grape and wine sector rests on a stable foundation

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The information highlighted that Imre Hubai explained that the Hungarian grape and wine culture is built on thousand-year-old traditions, and the mountain village system – with the exception of the socialist period – has always been the natural and traditional administrative framework of the wine sector. The 2012 Act on Mountain Communities is a milestone that transformed the system of representation and control of producers, laying the foundations for the operation of the professional mountain judges network. According to the Secretary of State, the key to the survival of Hungarian grape and wine production is how and to what extent winegrowers and winemakers can cooperate in the protection of vineyards, production and sales. The National Council of Mountain Communities (HNT), with its interprofessional rights since 2014, has proven that it is able to coordinate the common interests of grape growers and wineries, promoting sustainable income distribution and the organization of the sector – the statement said.

The government has regulated the level of mountain judges’ salaries and adjusted the previously low state support for the organizational system to this end

The mountain judges’ faculty represents a stable foundation on which the government can build a one-stop administration system for the sector. The next step in this direction was the new 2020 Wine Act, which transformed the entire wine administration. The one-stop shop was thus extended to additional official procedures, so that grape growers and wine producers only have to contact the mountain judge in more and more cases. He also mentioned that digitalization and the introduction of a unified wine IT system are essential to reduce administration. At the same time, this requires a proactive, helpful and positive attitude from both the HNT and all mountain judges. In order to support smaller wineries and small producers, the HNT can provide assistance as a service provider in the application of the latest rules, contributing to the balanced operation of the sector, the Ministry of Agriculture informed.

MTI