Change in trend

In the near future it will be especially difficult for multinational companies to define prices for global products in the Hungarian market. In order to maintain their market share, they will have to use lower prices than in wealthier markets. Will products be cheaper in Hungary, or will they sacrifice part of their market share? Global price rises have come at the worst possible moment. As global suppliers have started pushing prices up, Hungarian producers also find themselves in a much more favourable position than they could have hoped for a year ago. The race for green fuel has also begun. The over-subsidised “green business” has become a competitor of the food industry in the corn market, driving prices up. For some people in the food business, the recent price rises came as no surprise. For others however, it is more difficult to understand and accept global changes. Changes have also begun in EU regulations applicable to the food industry. As a result of these changes, whole sectors might disappear from certain countries. According to experts, it is not possible to tell yet which way EU reforms should proceed. Reformers are set on cutting the agricultural budget at the moment, whereas increasing demand in Asia indicates that it might not be a bad idea to boost food production. During her recent visit to Hungary, Mariann Fischer Boel said that there will be no change in the total amount allocated to subsidising agricultural production by the EU till 2013. Food has become a more precious commodity than it had been before. It is a big question regarding the future of food whether processing enterprises will be able to recruit new customers by innovation during this transitional period or not. We’ll see at the Foodapest exhibition.