Inauguration Ceremony at the Univer Product Food Processing and Trading Company

(MTI) – Hungary’s economy has entered a phase of sustainable growth, suggesting that it has been put on the right track, the prime minister said on Thursday.

The economy has grown by almost 4 percent in the past six months, which is a “remarkable achievement” in itself in a time of economic crisis, Viktor Orban told an inauguration ceremony at the Univer Product food processing and trading company in Kecskemet.

He said that under the partnership agreement signed with the EU, Hungary would carry out developments worth a total of 12,000 billion forints (EUR 38bn) in the next seven years.

As much as 60 percent of the amount will be directed towards economic development, which he said was “good news” for Hungary’s small and medium-sized businesses (SME). In a bid to provide more funding for companies the size of Univer, the legal framework for SMEs will be redesigned, Orban said.

Hungarian-owned Univer has not only bought back the Kecskemet canning factory from a foreign owner but is operating it more efficiently, Orban said.

Univer CEO Karoly Molitorisz noted the company had invested 3.5 billion forints (EUR 11m) in a complete reconstruction, allowing the plant to triple its capacity and process 75,000 tonnes of tomato a year, he said.

Balazs Szarka, director general of Univer Cooperatives Zrt, said Univer had invested 7.2 billion forints on developing its Kecskemet company over the past five years.

Photo: MTI – Sandor Ujvari

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters