Exports could be a breakthrough opportunity for Hungarian farmers

Our food exports are a determining factor in the entire Hungarian foreign trade every year, as nearly 40 percent of our export surplus can be linked to domestic agriculture and the food industry. Our most important export products (in terms of value) are animal feed and animal feed, but we also export significant quantities of meat and cereals. The vast majority of our exports are to EU countries, and only 20 percent go to markets outside the EU. However, due to recent global developments, significant risks have emerged in our traditional European markets, as the free trade agreement with Ukraine or the Mercosur countries, the tariff war or the punitive measures announced by China may significantly limit the possibility of internal EU exports.

In the future, therefore, markets outside the EU, such as the Balkans, North Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East or the Far East, may become increasingly important, where serious market opportunities may also open up for Hungarian food products. The National Chamber of Agriculture and Food Industry – in cooperation with the government – is therefore helping Hungarian farmers and food industry players with a new service: within the framework of this, country profiles have been prepared for nearly 30 European and non-European countries, presenting, among other things, the food imports of the given country, the transport routes, the standards, and also indicating the contact details of our foreign representation operating in the given country.

Another important service of the NAK Foreign Market Support Portal launched at https://export.nak.hu/ is a product search software, where we can view all possible import markets for a given product. With this, we can currently search for 40 agricultural products based on foreign trade data from more than 40 countries. By searching for a specific product, users can find out which countries import significant quantities of certain goods. The data is available in four main categories: arable crops, vegetables, fruits and animal products. As part of the free service, farmers and food industry companies can also receive assistance in obtaining the documents, official contact details and additional information required for export.

The system will be expanded with additional countries and functions in the future, thus helping NAK members to effectively enter foreign markets.