Hungarian foreign minister expects record exports in 2016

Budapest, November 24 (MTI) – Based on already available figures, Hungary’s exports are expected to be record high this year, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday.

The performance of Hungary’s foreign trade reflects the path of growth, with exports being record high last year already, Szijjártó said at an event organised by Eximbank.

Figures from the first eight months of this year show that Hungary’s exports have grown by 3 percent this year, with the machine industry and pharmaceuticals being the areas that mostly drive exports. In the first eight months of this year, Hungary exported more to 34 countries than in the whole of last year, he added.

Szijjártó noted that Hungary won the right to host the World Export Development Forum in 2017.

He said Hungary helps its small and medium sized companies find market opportunities abroad, with representatives of the Hungarian National Trading House operating in 47 countries, adding that the network is set to be expanded by another 9 locations next year.

Some 79.1 percent of Hungary’s exports are to the European Union but thanks to the opening to the east and south policies announced by the government, exports to countries involved in these schemes grew by 7 percent and 9 percent, respectively, between 2010 and 2015, Szijjarto said.

Hungary’s exports accounted for 89 percent of the GDP in the first half of this year, he said.

The Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Hungary Rustemov Nurbah said at the event that Hungary is an important strategic partner for Kazakhstan in the region. A strategic council and business councils help the further development of links, he added.

An agreement about a direct air link between Budapest and Astana is scheduled to be signed on Thursday.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI