GFM: the new Agrár Széchenyi Card MAX+ is extremely popular and enjoys enormous interest

By: STA Date: 2023. 11. 22. 11:00

Agriculture is a particularly important sector in the difficult economic situation affected by the war and sanctions, both from the point of view of the national economy and food security, but it also contributes significantly to the strengthening of the population retention capacity of the Hungarian countryside and the creation of domestic food self-sufficiency, the Ministry of Economic Development (GFM) announced on Wednesday.

(Photo: KAVOSZ)

They said: in the high interest rate environment, however, agricultural enterprises also found it more difficult to obtain funds that would have helped them to implement their investments and developments. In order to protect farmers and agricultural enterprises, the Agrár Széchenyi Card MAX+ was launched on October 2, 2023 in cooperation with the GFM, the Ministry of Agriculture and KAVOSZ Zrt., for which the government provides additional interest subsidies. The new Agrár Széchenyi Card MAX+ current account loan can be applied for 1, 2 or 3 years with a net interest rate of 5 percent and a maximum amount of HUF 100 million, thanks to special state support. Within the framework of the scheme, it is possible to conclude loan agreements until June 29, 2024. Máté Lóga, the state secretary responsible for economic development and national financial services, emphasized that the product is extremely popular among agricultural enterprises, in the current difficult economic situation hit by sanctions and the resulting high interest rate environment. In the last short month and a half, more than 3,000 agricultural enterprises inquired about the program and its conditions of use. The amount of customer inquiries exceeded HUF 80 billion, he said.

The state secretary added that more than 2,000 customer requests are currently being processed at the banks, with a value of HUF 63 billion

In addition, 300 agricultural enterprises have already inquired about the product, which until now do not have any Agricultural Széchenyi Card products, which also points to the increased interest. The GFM stated that the government’s goal is to contribute to protecting jobs and increasing the competitiveness of agricultural enterprises with the subsidized loan. 2023 is the year of inflation reduction, 2024 is the year of economic recovery. In order for the government to restore economic growth in 2024, it needs well-performing, investing and developing agricultural enterprises. However, the recovery of economic growth is significantly hindered by the growing positive real interest rate, which arose due to the high central bank interest rate that exceeds inflation. On the one hand, high interest rates deter the population from consumption, and on the other hand, they deter entrepreneurs from investing and developing, and all of this seriously damages competitiveness and performance. Detailed information on the Agrár Széchenyi Kártya MAX+ scheme, the business rules and the documents required for the application are available on the KAVOSZ website.

MTI