Szőreg roses are famous among gardeners and horticulturalists, and 98 percent of the roses cultivated in Hungary come from this area, the country's only rose-producing region. The nationally protected plant will also receive EU protected status in the very near future under the name Szőreg Rosebush. The 13th Szőreg Rose Festival was opened on June 23 by Minister for Rural Development Sándor Fazekas in the Csongrád County town.

The town's famous symbol was celebrated by a flower exhibition, a horse-drawn carriage procession and concerts at the Szőreg Rose Festival.

Szőreg was at one time an independent settlement, but is now part of Szeged, and the annual event is a significant one in the life of the town. In his opening speech, the Minister explained: the National Rural Strategy protects those values that provide the intellectual and economic strength of rural communities. This includes fruit, vegetable and ornamental plant horticulture based on farming traditions.

Horticulture is the most intensive sector of Hungarian agriculture, providing jobs for some 300 thousand people. 1000 out of the five thousand strong population of Szőreg make a living from the cultivation of roses. Within the horticulture sector, the ornamental plant segment has the greatest labour requirement and produces a value of around 50-60 billion HUF per year. The government provides incentives for the establishment of plantations, and in addition to programmes for irrigation and restructuring, also helps the sector through providing other forms of support.

The Szőreg Rose is also recognised abroad and the majority of the 4-5 million plants produced annually are exported. The plant received National protection in 2004 under the name Szőreg Rosebush, at which time Hungary also applied to the European Union to receive geographical product denomination. (The concept of geographical denomination means the protection of the product in relation to its geographical area of production.) The EU procedure was completed in April of this year, the member states voiced no objections, and so the Szőreg Rosebush will now officially receive European Union protected status within a matter of days.

The first cultivated rosebush reached Szőreg in 1894, but gardening had already been a tradition in the region. The number of hours of sunlight is high in the Tisza-Maros triangle, the capabilities of the soil are excellent, and generations of rose farmers have made their living from the cultivation of roses and continue to pass on the family tradition and knowledge. Rose cultivation almost came to a halt after the war, and only began again towards the end of the 60s; the rose farmers of Szőreg currently propagate over 200 varieties of roses.

The propagation material of the ornamental plant cultivated in and around Szőreg and called the Szőreg Rosebush will receive protected geographical status. Szeged paprika powder, Gönc apricots, Hajdúság horseradish and Alföld wild camomile flowers have also received EU protected status following similar procedures. It was stated at the Festival that the Szőreg Rosebush would make a fine Hungaricum.

(Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)