Even in times of crisis, national goals, such as full employment, should not be abandoned, which is why the government is focusing on supporting investments in the current situation so that Hungary can avoid the European crisis, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced in Debrecen.
At the handover of Hajdúhús 2000 Kft.’s investment, the head of the ministry called it a fundamental objective that everyone who wants to be able to work in our country. As he said, successful crisis management during the coronavirus epidemic was also based on this, so no other path should be chosen even during the current difficulties.
“That’s why the Hungarian government is focusing on supporting investments in this period of economic crisis, just as it did during the coronavirus epidemic. This has already worked and will work again, so we Hungarians will be able to avoid the European economy a crushing recession,” he stated.
“The European economy is not only heading towards recession, but it’s also running at a breakneck pace. We Hungarians want to stay out of it, and this is only possible (.) if new and new investments are continuously created,” he said.
The state contributed roughly one billion forints to the recently handed over HUF 2.6 billion capacity expansion development, for which the meat industry company undertook to maintain its 192-person workforce.
In his speech, Péter Szijjártó pointed out that the world is “practically stumbling from crisis to crisis” and that the global economy has been turned upside down twice in the past less than three years. He underlined: pandemic and war situations have in common that neither started from the food industry, yet both had a dramatic impact on the food supply worldwide.
The coronavirus epidemic interrupted supply chains, which caused supply disruptions in several places, even in Western Europe, and the war in Ukraine threatens a serious food crisis since the countries at war with each other are considered the world’s pantries, he said.
Although the Hungarian food industry performed excellently in these two stress tests, all this makes it clear that the existence of adequate food industry capacities is in the interest of national security, he emphasized.
“We strive to be self-sufficient in terms of food supply, to be able to say about as many food products as possible that we produce more of them than what we consume,” he added.
The minister reported that last year the production value of the food industry was HUF 4,400 billion, which set a record, and in the first eight months of this year, a 46 percent increase was registered in the sector, which provides the livelihood of 134,000 families, which is another huge peak.
As he stated, the dynamic development is shown by the fact that since 2014, sixty-six major investments supported by the government have taken place in the sector.
“Anyone who doesn’t develop, who doesn’t make investments, who doesn’t use the most modern technology, certainly can’t be competitive in this sector either,” he opined.
MTI
Photo: Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó (j) and István Papp, owner of Hajdúhús 2000 Kft. (b) during a plant visit after the handover of Hajdúhús 2000 Kft.’s new investment in Debrecen on November 7, 2022. The state contributed roughly HUF 1 billion to the HUF 2.6 billion capacity-enhancing development, and the meat company undertook to maintain its 192-person workforce. MTI/János Vajda
