The labour market situation in animal husbandry, particularly in dairy production, remains tight, and there are simply not enough workers without foreign employees, Hungary’s Dairy Products Council (Tej Terméktanács) stressed in a statement on Friday.
The organisation said that a number of businesses have recently expressed concern about losing workers who would be difficult to replace.
According to the statement, animal care and milking are demanding jobs, and for years it has been almost impossible to recruit and retain suitably qualified Hungarian workers. As a result, foreign employees are not taking jobs away from Hungarians but rather filling critical labour shortages.
The council added that interest in agricultural work is low across Europe, while the ageing workforce is making recruitment increasingly urgent. Technological developments have helped ease labour shortages to some extent, but they cannot fully replace the need for workers.
The Dairy Products Council also argued that the employment of guest workers is justified by positive experiences in the sector, noting that they have adapted well to both the Hungarian environment and workplace challenges.
Based on feedback from businesses, if guest workers were forced to leave when their residence permits expire, operational disruptions could be expected, productivity indicators would deteriorate, and farms might be forced to reduce livestock numbers or even shut down. This would lead to a decline in production and weaken the international competitiveness of Hungarian companies.
The organisation further stated that guest workers should not be allowed to leave because neighbouring countries do not impose similarly restrictive rules on their employment. Any tightening of regulations in Hungary would therefore place the country at an even greater competitive disadvantage.
The Dairy Products Council also noted that in recent weeks it has provided the government with detailed information about labour shortages in the sector and the measures it believes are needed to address them.
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