"Raw material production and food processing enterprises can only operate successfully in the long term is they help each other; the Hungarian food economy cannot be competitive without solidarity and integration", Deputy State Secretary for Agricultural Economy Zsolt Feldman declared at the National Food Chain Forum held at the Ministry of Rural Development.

The Government introduced a reduced VAT level of only 5 percent for full and half pig carcasses on 1 January in the interests of increasing the competitiveness of bona fide pig farming and meat industry enterprises and protecting jobs within the sector. The decision contributes significantly to whitening the black economy and promotes the purchasing of Hungarian pigs, and as such contributes to the objectives determined within the Ministry of Rural Development's pig sector strategy.

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The Deputy State Secretary emphasised that dialogue with the sector's various operators is continuous, as a result of which the Ministry will receive immediate feedback on whether the reduction in VAT is helping the processing industry and creating an increased market demand towards domestic pig farmers through reducing imports of live pigs.

The Deputy State Secretary announced that a complex monitoring system would be established with the participation of National Food Chain Safety Office (NFSCO), the National Tax and Customs Administration (NTCA), the Central Statistical Office (KSH), the Animal and Meat Product Council and Research Institute of Agricultural Economics to examine, process and present the positive effects and results of the VAT decrease.

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Participants at the Forum also received information on the areas of development of the Hungarian Fruit and Vegetable Sector Strategy for 2014-2020, priorities relating to the establishment of Short Food Supply Chains (SFSC), which promote local markets, and the current concerns and opinions of professional organisations.

The organisers of the event hope the Forum will facilitate dialogue between the various participants of the domestic food chain, promote the increased production of domestic food commodities and increase market demand.

In addition to the Ministry of Rural Development, the Forum's organisers include the Hungarian Gastro Map Cluster, the Animal and Meat Product Council, the Hungarian Interprofessional Organisation for Fruit and Vegetables (FruitVeB) and the Hungarian Association of Young Farmers (Agrya).

(Ministry of Rural Development)