NAK focuses on the food industry

The Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture (NAK) has recently organised a conference on the production of alcoholic drinks, where the role of food processing in the chamber’s life was also discussed.

NAK’s vice president Tamás Éder told that food industry enterprises didn’t fully trust the chamber first, because they thought that the more agriculture-focused. Luckily, the fears weren’t justified in the last few years. Mr Éder reckons that NAK’s most important tasks include interest representation, providing information and spreading know-how.

Dr Diána Sidlovits, the head of NAK’s horticulture group gave a presentation on wine market trends. She told that the Tolna wine region, Villány, Szekszárd, Pannonhalma, Etyek, Buda and the Neszmély wine region are strong even at international level. Hungary used 80-85 percent of the annual EUR 29-million funding for the restructuring and conversion of vineyards. In the roundtable discussion on the rules applying to small wineries Péter Gál, deputy state secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture told: VAT cuts can’t be reduced to the status of agricultural policy.

NAK expert Udó Dúl highlighted the fact that the goal of the VAT cut shouldn’t only be increasing sales. Dávid Brazsil, general secretary of the National Council of Wine Communities (HNT) spoke about the prospective EU regulation of alcoholic drinks. Dr Viktor Bogdány, public administration consultant of the Ministry for National Economy analysed the new excise goods regulation that had entered into force on 1 July. //