Competitive businesses help developing micro-regions

By: STA Date: 2024. 05. 24. 11:00

Hungarian agriculture has gone through a spectacular development since 2010, and the companies exhibiting at Kiskun Expo are a clear proof of this, showing the strength and competitiveness of the Hungarian countryside – said Sándor Farkas, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, on Friday in Kiskunfélegyháza, at the opening of the event.

(Photo: AM/Tibor Vermes)

Sándor Farkas emphasized that the tradition-preserving event, which looks back on 90 years of history, is a celebration of cooperation, value creation and value preservation. It presents the outstanding values of Kiskunfélegyháza and the surrounding small regions, the multitude of its industrial and agricultural companies, the diverse values of the work of the entrepreneurs, artisans and primary producers living here. Today, internationally recognized enterprises also mark the values of Kiskunfélegyháza and its surroundings, such as the food industry, the dairy industry, or the cultivation of vegetables, he added.

The deputy minister emphasized that the development of Hungarian agriculture is significant

In recent years, the machinery and buildings have been renewed, new greenhouses and plants have been created, and the expertise and training of farmers has improved. All of this is supported by sectorial data. Between 2010 and 2023, the output of agriculture increased by 157 percent at current prices and by 33 percent at constant prices, and income at the sector level increased by more than two and a half times. During this period, the foreign market offered increasing sales opportunities, while the role of the agricultural economy in the foreign trade processes of the national economy also became decisive. Agricultural exports exceeded the 2010 value by 129 percent and the balance by 65 percent in 2023. Employment has also increased, by 18 percent, and in recent years, labor shortages have been more of a problem, he added. Agricultural subsidies and the favorable economic and financing environment contributed to the development of the sector. In 2023, about HUF 1,400 billion in agricultural subsidies were paid out, this source is a huge help in keeping farmers afloat even in the current difficult situation, the deputy minister underlined. The current expo is also of special importance because Kiskunfélegyháza is also celebrating the 250th anniversary of its declaration as a city this year.