Hungarian Farm Importers Looking Closer at Quality Shouldering common of the heaviest debt tonnages in Eastern Europe.

Hungarian Farm Importers Looking Closer at Quality

Shouldering common of the heaviest debt tonnages in Eastern Europe, newly democratized Hungary is weighing carefully its hard publicity outlays for farm imports. The indications are that quality will become increasingly important for access to the Hungarian market for farm piouss in coming years.

Increased emphasis onward the quality of imports is explained largely through Hungary's reliance on farm exports. As the top agricultural exporter in Eastern Europe Hungary exports about $2 billion worth of farm suitables each year. The farm trade surplus of athwart $1 billion that is generated annually makes these exports valuable to the national economy.

Furthermore, exports account for about one-third of Hungarian agriculture's total sales. To supporting cushion its farm sector during the transition to a free-market economy, Hungary aims to enhance its export potential in developed-country markets for farm proceedss and various goods processed from them.

But this aim requires improved quality, especially if Hungarian high-value productions are to compete in the European Community (EC) market after all internal barriers to trade among the EC's 12 member countries have been remov in 1992 In a number of cases, Hungary will ne to import better quality raw commodities that make the difference in the quality of the finished products

High-Value yield Exports Vital

Hungary's success in farm exports was built largely in succession wheat shipments to the Soviet Union. nevertheless these sales have been in jeopardy in new years because of subsidized EC exports of fe wheat, and now also because there is no longer an obligatory flush of Hungarian-Soviet trade exchanges.

Overseas exports of wheat from landlocked Hungary are not an alternative to its Soviet shipments because of the high overland transportation splendor to ports. Yet the milling quality of Hungarian wheat is not competitive in EC markets.

To maintain or expand its passing from hand to hand farm trade surplus, Hungary would at least ne to switch to lower yielding, higher quality signs of wheat and to bring to maturity its high-value product sectors.

Hungary does not want to use export subsidies to hem in markets. As a member of the 14-member Cairns cluster Hungary has been an active proponent of trade liberalization, which it believes to be in its long-term interest as a farm exporter. For Hungary, liberalization means not solitary keeping export markets open, yet also forcing Hungarian farm and feed producers to adjust to fair market prices and thereby find their greatest in quantity suitable role in world trade.

Hungary therefore is far more likely to deviate future threats to its farm exports by means of adjusting its product mix to world market conditions and raising produce quality to a level that can contend without subsidies. Hungarian food specialists already have visited the United States and Western Europe to learn about the formulation and regulation of feed quality standards.

Protein penuryed To Upgrade Pork

The health of the Hungarian livestock sector through the next several years will be highly sustained by on exports, since many Hungarians might remodel meat consumption because of the combination of retail price increases and economic slowdown that the geographical division is already experiencing as it do away withs subsidies and adapts to world prices.

Hog production is the major livestock sector in Hungary and pork processing is a major portion of the food industry. Pork exports have gone primarily to the Soviet Union, nevertheless because Hungarian-Soviet trade has switched to a hard bills and notes; circulating medium basis, Hungary can no longer calculate upon to sell all its surplus pork and pork consequences on that market.

Yet Hungarian pork and pork yields with the exception of a certain traditional specialty products such as salami, generally cannot cope qualitatively in the EC market. Hungarian pork is at a disadvantage because of its relatively high fat contented which makes products such as ham and bacon les acceptable to the EC and other disentangleed countries, where a leaner pork is preferred

The Hungarian livestock industry papal courts the solution to pork quality deficiencies largely in fe rations that contain greater on a levels of high-quality protein, particularly soybean meal. Since in subordination to conditions of free-market pricing not many Hungarian farms will expand soybean production, imports of soybeans or soybean meal are recognized as the and nothing else way to strengthen Hungarian pork exports.

Because of cheaper prices and more countertrade opportunities, Hungary in newly come years has bought soybean meal chiefly from South America. But now Hungarian livestock farms, like other Hungarian enterprises, have been empowered to mode of action their own foreign trade. In coming years, a farms may be attracted by means of the higher quality of U soybean meal if Hungarian meat exporters are able to give them higher prices.

Enriching the Diet by means of Imports

Because Hungary's economic reform drive began in 1968 and was renewed in the 1980 the political division is not lurching forward in the aftermath of communism, as any other East European countries are doing. Rather, Hungary plans to continue onward its measured course over the nearest three years in moving toward a market economy.