Diverse prospects for our key industries

The secret behind the Brazilian food miracle was not the only topic at the AKI conference held in June. Medium-term prospects for European food markets were also discussed and we found out that classic food production instead of bio-fuel will remain the best option for us.. Competition is expected to become more intense as a result of talks between the EU and the WTO. Though some experts expect prices to fall, others believe that increased consumption by China and India will stabilise prices at a higher level. – Subsidies will be reduced and market protection will disappear – says Gábor Udavecz, general director of AKI. He believes the next few years will be a period of prosperity for plant producers in Hungary. Prices will stay high even when intervention will no longer exist. According to AKI estimates, the price of grain will be USD 170-200 in 2016, while that of corn will be USD 130-150. He also believes that food production will be a better for Hungarians, than converting to production of bio-fuel. József Popp, director of AKI sees present trends continuing in the long run for producers of livestock. Beef production in the EU will not expand, while prices of dairy products will probably grow slowly.