Hungary must become a self-sufficient producer of sugar, and so the Ministry is doing everything in its power to keep sugar-beet farmers in good spirits – said György Czerván at the press conference following the session of the Sugar and Isoglucose Product Path Committee at the Ministry of Rural Development. The State Secretary for Agricultural Economy stressed that farmers would receive the almost 2 billion Forints in support for this year despite the fact that the government has earmarked 800 million Forints of the support quota because the national budget is in a difficult situation.

The blocking of these funds will not affect the sugar-beet farmers in any way, because the Magyar Cukor Zrt, ("Hungarian Sugar Corporation") has paid farmers the remaining 800 million Forints in order to guarantee steady production. The Ministry and the sugar factory have agreed that the corporation will receive the funds transferred to farmers now out of next year's budget as early as February. This means that the budget for the support of sugar-beet producers will increase by a further 800 million Forints to 2.78 billion Forints in 2012.

Gyula Berki, president of the National Association of Sugar-beet Producers (CTOSZ) pointed out that national supplemental support is required because sugar farming is an expensive business. The cost price of one hectare is 500-600 thousand Forints, depending on the location and type of farming utilized. The supplemental support is basically what makes production profitable.

György Czerván also touched on the fact that the draft of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) includes the termination of the EU's current sugar quota system in the autumn of 2015. The State Secretary indicated that Hungarian experts are currently completing background calculations to determine which course of action would be preferential to the country, liberalisation of the market, or the retention of the quota system. Sugar industry representatives are almost unanimously in favour of extending the quota system until 2020.

The State Secretary reminded those present that Hungary managed to fight out a 402 thousand ton national sugar quota when it joined the EU, but that we had renounced 75 percent of the quota in 2006.

The Hungarian sugar market has become a one-man band and is incapable of supplying the local market alone. 300 thousand tons of sugar is consumed in Hungary each year, and the Ministry is striving to make the country self-sufficient with regard to the production of staple foods, including sugar.

(Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)