The campaign to encourage the consumption of pork has been launched

(Photo: Pixabay)

Gergely Giczi, the deputy managing director of AMC, said at the announcing press conference on Tuesday in Budapest that the campaign, which runs until December 24, was built around holiday preparations, so it is mainly addressed to mothers who are shopping. When planning the Christmas menu, they strive to put pork and food made from it on the table of every family. He pointed out that while the per capita pork consumption in Hungary was 23 kilograms in 2013, this value increased to 32-33 kilograms thanks to similar campaigns launched in recent years and the VAT reduction. This year they experienced a stagnation, so the awareness campaign launched on Tuesday serves to maintain this level of consumption. He also touched on the fact that the pig sector is a leading sector in the national economy, the food economy and the meat industry. Therefore, even in this difficult market situation, the Ministry of Agriculture stands by the pig farmers and processors, he said. As an example, he mentioned that the calls for tenders in the Rural Development Program contributed to the strengthening of the income-generating capacity of the pig sector. In the current EU budget cycle, the modernization of the pig farming sector continues based on the KAP strategic plan.

Tamás Éder, the president of the Association of Hungarian Butchers, asked Hungarian consumers to buy high-quality, fresh Hungarian pork or pork products on weekdays and during holidays

Regarding the situation of the sector, Tamás Éder said that before the summer of 2022, pig farmers were in a difficult situation in the European Union due to extremely low live pig prices. Last year, in the second quarter, an opposite process started, as the EU’s pig population seriously decreased in response to low live pig prices. And all of this caused a significant increase in the price of live pigs in accordance with the laws of the market. The price explosion of raw materials due to the increase in the price of energy and packaging materials, as well as the increase in wages, put slaughterhouses and meat processing plants under a lot of pressure with the increase in cost. For the time being, they could not fully incorporate the increase in these costs experienced in the past 1.5 years into their sales and transfer prices. This is “sad news” for consumers, for whom the food inflation of the past 1.5 years has already caused a lot of difficulties, but in the case of pork, the corrective price increase that started later compared to other foods has taken place and is still taking place. That is why Tamás Éder asked consumers to help the actors of the Hungarian pork industry with a healthy patriotic attitude and ensure their economic survival.

MTI