Wine marketing to begin in late 2008

The quantity of wine produced in Hungary this year will be around 3,5 million hectolitres this year, though as much as 4 million was expected. – This quantity is 20 percent more than last year. – says Csaba Horváth, general secretary of the Council of Winemakers’ Associations (HNT). For year, cheap red wine imported from Italy has been a growing concern for Hungarian farmers. According to Italian statistics, 400,000 hectolitres are exported to Hungary. While Hungarian producers are not particularly concerned about wine imported from South America, they regard cheap Italian imports as a major problem. In fact Hungarian, winemakers have requested the competent ministry to check whether import regulations have been observed or not. Conditions in Hungary are better suited to making white wine than red. Hungarian producers can offer competitive quality in types like sauvignon blanc, and chardonnay, or local specialities like cserszegi fűszeres and furmint. However, export prospects have deteriorated during the past decade, as a result of the strong HUF and the absence of international marketing. HUF 700 million will be available for wine marketing this year. This will be used for sponsoring regional programs and events as well as market research in Hungary, and there will also be a budget allocated to international marketing. The basic objective of the international marketing program is to build up and communicate the Wines of Hungary joint brand and also to organise generic promotional programs. The National Wine Marketing program worked out by Magyar Bormarketing Kht, is to be financed from contributions paid by Hungarian winemakers. Per capita consumption of wine is 30 litres per year in Hungary, which translates into medium level consumption by international comparison.