18 September 2013, Budapest

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen!

Just to make sure I don't forget to do so at the end, at the beginning of my speech I hereby declare the 76th OMÉK Fair open.

Dear Guests, Dear Minister. Respected Ladies and Gentlemen from Russia,

It is with respect that I welcome you here today. As we have heard from the Minister [of Rural Development, Sándor Fazekas. Ed.], this Fair is a celebration of Hungarian agriculture, Hungarian farmers and Hungarian farmland. I would also like to extend a special welcome to the delegation from the guest of honour of this year's Fair, Russia. Our guest is a country that has been written off several times during the past centuries, but which has always succeeding in rising up again, and must continue be taken seriously by the world in future. I wish Russia and the people of Russia much success!

Ladies and Gentlemen!

We Hungarians have inherited one of Europe's best endowed lands: it is a land with a balanced climate, excellent soil and is free from industrial pollution. To this is added the farming culture we have developed over centuries and our instinct for and professional knowledge of estate management. We are also all aware of the fact that farmland not only provides people with bread, but also with a community, culture and history. The land shows us who we are and our value in the world. The land gives poise and pride to those who value it. And yet, Ladies and Gentlemen, during the past twenty years we have had to struggle for the very existence of Hungarian agriculture. We had to do away with those delusions according to which agriculture is a thing of the past and the future belongs to industry. We Hungarians had to once again make it clear that we are an agricultural nation and so cannot give up that which we understand best and for which we have the best attributes.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

We had to struggle so that Hungarian farmland did not fall into foreign hands. We had to struggle so that the interests of farmers were represented and not those of speculators. We had to struggle so that farmland could not be swept away from under our feet through illegal contracts. And we also had to struggle so that our homeland could not be swamped with cheap, but bad quality foods while our excellent Hungarian products remain on the shelf.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

We Hungarians have achieved radical changes within the field of agriculture. We have brought the period of struggle for the cause of Hungarian farmland, Hungarian agriculture and rural Hungary to an end. We can state that the new Land Act is capable of fully protecting Hungarian land and assuring that it remains in the hands of Hungarian farmers without violating European Union laws. We can state that we have found the instruments with which the system of illegal contracts may be eliminated quickly and efficiently. We can state that the agricultural authorities have been given the necessary tools, which they sometimes put to use, to protect Hungarian products from low quality and unhealthy foods that are imported at dumping prices. The profitability of agriculture and the economic and financial power of our farmers have also increased in recent years. And so the future, Ladies and Gentlemen, can now revolve around evolution, development and fulfilment, the framework of which is clearly defined by the National Rural Development Strategy in effect until 2020. As a result of the objectives and schedule determined in the Strategy, 75 percent of state-owned land may now be farmed by licensed traditional small-scale producers, agricultural sole proprietorships, family farmers and young agricultural producers. We are providing a vision of the future and a chance to prove themselves to farmsteads, which have been written off by many in the past: 434 applications received within the framework of the state-funded farmstead programme have received some two and a half billion forints in funding. We have also achieved order with regard to badly utilised European Union resources. Over 90 percent of the 1,400 billion forints in available funding has been committed, leading to the realisation of development projects valued at some 3,000 billion forints. In 2012, Ladies and Gentlemen, 15,000 more people were employed in agriculture than in the previous year. Accordingly, the number of people working in the sector increased to 200,000, thanks to which last year the ratio of people employed in agriculture achieved a long-time high of over 5 percent. And even more people were at work in the fields during seasonal periods. We can state that over three years a total of 30,000 new jobs have been created in the agriculture sector. Our gross national product has also felt the change. The importance of agriculture to the Hungarian national economy is significantly higher than the EU average. In 2010, agriculture contributed 3.5 percent to the total gross national product, while in 2011 this ratio grew to 4.5 percent. In 2012, the sector produced the best ever recorded export performance, with exports increasing to almost 8 billion euros.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

All this is also the result of the fact that we have succeeded in finding new markets for Hungarian products. Our markets are expanding. Our opening towards the East policy has been a success. New entrants include India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan. During the past few years Hungarian agricultural exports to Japan, Bosnia, Georgia and, as we have heard, to Russia, have increased determinatively. The fact that Hungarian-Russian cooperation, which boasts a great history, is also developing encouragingly is especially gratifying. The level of trade increased significantly during the first four months of 2013. At the same time, Ladies and Gentlemen, we have also taken significant measures to successfully stabilise Hungary's internal market. Thanks to the farmers markets that are opening up one after the other throughout the country, more and more people now have access to excellent quality Hungarian products, in addition to which their purchases help support rural Hungary, agricultural production and local jobs. I encourage everyone to buy Hungarian food industry products!

Ladies and Gentlemen!

All of this also required that we increase the purchasing power of Hungarian consumers. One of the purposes of the reduction in public utility charges was also to leave more money in the pockets of Hungarian families with which to buy healthy and high quality Hungarian foods.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Guests!

We know our kind very well. A Hungarian, and especially a Hungarian farmer, will never say that things are going well. This is how we are built. But what is clear, and if we look around the Fair we can safely declare so, is that Hungarian agriculture is performing better than before and can look forward to a promising future.

Thank you for your kind attention.

(Prime Minister’s Office)