MA-HAL and MBH Bank are working together to strengthen the fishing sector

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According to official data, the majority of Hungarians, 5.6 million people, only eat fish once a year, which they buy at a price of HUF 1,200-1,800 per kilogram. There are about four million people who eat it several times a year, they typically buy fish for HUF 2,000-2,200 per kilogram. Those belonging to the lowest income class eat 1.7 kilograms of fish per year, while those in the highest income class eat four kilograms per year.

In addition, the consumption of domestically produced freshwater fish is more sustainable in many ways than the more popular marine fish species

During sea fishing, they try to satisfy the growing consumer needs by using large-scale methods, by overfishing the seas and oceans. In addition, these are brought to Hungarian consumers’ tables from far away, and thus transport and cooling involve significant additional emissions of greenhouse gases. On the other hand, domestic fish ponds create and maintain habitats with significant environmental value, and pond farms are also a resting place for many migratory birds. “Fishing is extremely important for the entire country from a health and sustainability point of view, but due to the regulatory environment and consumption habits, it is more difficult to finance than other areas of agriculture. As a bank, we can primarily support the strengthening of the product path from the farms to the consumer’s table by financing current assets and supporting investments, including the expansion of processing capacities, thereby increasing the domestic and foreign competitiveness of the sector,” said Dávid Hollósi, Managing Director of MBH Bank’s Agricultural and Food Business director, adding that the bank also helps farmers navigate the domestic and global fish market with research, analysis, and forecasts.

Dr. István Németh, the president of MA-HAL, emphasized that the fishing sector’s exposure to the weather, drought and floods is at least as great as that of crop cultivation

“However, there is currently no area-based support in the sector, the lack of which causes a significant competitive disadvantage compared to other agricultural sectors. However, in terms of wages, it is necessary to compete with plant growing companies operating in the vicinity of the lake farms. Until now, it was difficult for fishing to get loans, because in many cases the banks did not know this sector very well. Therefore, we are very pleased with the strategic agreement concluded with MBH Bank, which can help a lot in financing the participants of the sector, thereby increasing the growth of the aquaculture sector”.