Magazine: Celebrating the Hungarian food industry

By: Trademagazin editor Date: 2017. 11. 13. 07:11

The National Agriculture and Food Exhibition (OMÉK) was organised for the 78th time this year. A record number of 988 exhibitors showcased their products and services to 100,000 visitors at Hungary’s biggest and most prestigious agri-food trade exhibition. On ‘Day Zero’ of OMÉK the Ministry of Agriculture, the Agricultural Marketing Centre (AMC) and Agroinform.hu organised the 1st OMÉK Trade Day, where the best experts analysed the state of play in the agri-food sector. The event was a great success: 800 participants, 6 speakers and 24 moderators were present. Minister of Agriculture Dr Sándor Fazekas opened the conference who told: agriculture is facing major challenges and its problems can’t be solved without knowledge, expertise, willpower, respect for traditions and the latest technology.

_{Dr. Sándor Fazekas}
minister of agriculture

_{László Daróczi}
_{managing director}
_{Agrármarketing Centrum}

AMC managing director László Daróczi revealed that they plan to organise the OMÉK Trade Day every year – not only when there is an OMÉK – in order to support professional life in the agri-food sector. In the morning there were workshops about risk management and the technological revolution in agriculture, and about the effects of globalisation on Hungary’s agriculture. In the afternoon came the so-called ‘Open Space’ agri-workshop.

_Balázs_Győrffy
_chairman
_NAK

As part of OMÉK’s programme, the Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture (NAK) and the Ministry of Agriculture also organised a conference, where it turned out that a shift in the direction of a biomass-based economy – and at the same time raw material processing sectors gradually substituting fossil resources with biomass – can make a resource-efficient, waste-free and sustainable production possible. NAK president Balázs Győrffy told: NAK supports the Central and Eastern European initiative BIOEAST and is dedicated to work out a national biomass strategy.

Gábor Bokros, marketing director of Gyermelyi Zrt. told our magazine that in the last 10 years the group invested more than HUF 20 billion in development. The company’s export sales are growing dynamically. Renáta Kardos, trade marketing specialist of Sága Foods Zrt. told Trade magazin that being there at OMÉK is important for the company because they can introduce themselves to both the trade and consumers at the same time. She added that they put lots of work into serving the needs of consumers who suffer from some kind of food intolerance.

Ingrid Jakab, managing director of Csíki Sör Magyarország Kft. informed us that OMÉK is a great occasion to meet partners and directly communicate with consumers. As the company doesn’t have a great marketing budget, with its 100,000 daily visitors OMÉK offers a great chance for promoting their products. At the closing ceremony of the trade fair presented OMÉK’s Visitors Choice Award for the Dairy Board’s truck promoting dairy products, and handed over the OMÉK Minister’s Award for the organic einkorn wheat beer of Kőrös-Maros Biofarm. //