Hardest times seem to be over

Recession followed the turn of the millennium in the domestic refrigerating industry, but the crisis sems to be over now. The surviving enterprises have good prospects for the future.Not long ago, the industry was capable of producing 220-250 thousand tons of frozen vegetables and fruits. Today, overall production of frozen goods is only 120-150 thousand tons in Hungary. Most of this is concentrated in two products: sweet corn and green pea. Hungary is still number one, jointly with France, in the production of frozen sweet corn in Europe. Since the crisis of the refrigerating industry had an effect on agricultural production, a number of vegetables, like onions lost their market. – Companies with appropriate financing still prosper, but those with a weaker financial background found themselves in a tough situation – said László Cseh, chairman of the Hungarian Association of Refrigerating Industry. The weakening of the HUF had a favourable effect on export revenues, while domestic demand also grew and loans have been repayed in general. An easier period is expected to follow in the industry. Refrigerating businesses are generally domestically owned. New investment and development is aimed at production of goods with more added value, like convenience foods. Smaller enterprises usually have a wider assortment, while the big ones specialise in a few products representing big volume.