Péter Szijjártó: the government treats the food industry as a sector of strategic importance

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 01. 23. 12:36

The government treats the food industry, which currently employs around 145,000 people, as a sector of strategic importance, and 287 large investments worth 1,400 billion forints have been made in the sector in the past ten years, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced in Budapest on Thursday.

The domestic food industry company is building a new, automated chicken slaughtering and processing plant worth 35 billion forints in Szentes, a project supported by the state with 9 billion forints, thus facilitating the creation of fifty new jobs and the doubling of the capacity of the broiler plant. MTI/Zoltán Kocsis

According to a statement from the ministry, the minister of state for Hungerit Zrt. announced that the domestic food industry company will establish a new, automated chicken slaughtering and processing plant worth 35 billion forints in Szentes, a project supported by the state with 9 billion forints, thus facilitating the creation of fifty new jobs and the doubling of the capacity of the broiler plant.

“We expect a significant improvement in Hungerit’s export performance from the Szentes investment, and through it, the export performance of the Hungarian food industry,”

– he said.

In his speech, he emphasized that the government treats the food industry, which currently employs around 145 thousand people, as a sector of strategic importance, and that 287 large investments worth 1,400 billion forints have been made in the sector in the past ten years, creating nine thousand jobs.

He explained that

five years ago, the production value of the sector was 3,800 billion forints, but last year it already reached 6,500 billion forints.

“Exports played a huge role in all of this, as the Hungarian food industry operates with a 45 percent export ratio,” he noted.