Minister: foreign investors’ confidence in Hungary is unbroken
The confidence of foreign investors in Hungary “seems to be unbroken” despite “all the attacks, emotional blackmail and hysteria-mongering”, helping Hungary maintain its economic growth, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said on Friday.
Péter Szijjártó spoke at a project launch by Austria’s plywood maker KRONOSPAN-MOFA, and said the group would increase its capacity at its plant in Mohács, in southern Hungary, using a budget of HUF 2 billion (EUR 5.4 million). He added that the Hungarian government was supporting the project with a grant of HUF 286 million, “helping to preserve 230 jobs”.
“Economic crises always impact jobs, and the most important task of a government is to protect them; investments and government aid to those investments are crucial in saving jobs,” he said. Szijjártó said Hungary had seen EUR 6.5 billion in foreign investment last year, which he said was a “huge record”. He added, however, that last year’s record had been broken in the first half of 2023, while greenfield developments had shrunk by 15 percent elsewhere in the European Union.
Concerning the wood processing industry, which employs 16,000 people in the country, he said it had also broken a record last year, increasing by 26 percent and its earnings nearing HUF 600 billion. Austria is Hungary’s third largest trading partner, with bilateral trade increasing by 37 percent in 2022, to a total turnover of a record EUR 17 billion, the minister added.
The Hungarian government’s mandatory action in shops has come into force, here are the first experiences
From 1 June, the Hungarian government made it compulsory for shops to offer special offers on certain basic products. The aim is to reduce inflation, but what are the first experiences?
Mandatory special offers
Under the Hungarian government’s new regulation, shops must offer 20 categories of basic foodstuffs at a minimum 10 percent discount for a week. György Vámos, secretary general of the National Trade Association (OKSZ), said the aim was to bring down inflation. The discount offer will be updated weekly and inspectors will check that everyone is complying with the new rules, napi.hu writes.
“Every discount is a burden for the retailer, as they give up part of their sales – and they are forced to do this in addition to the mandatory promotions in order to reverse the downward trend of the first quarter and to increase the volume of goods bought by the public in grocery stores.” said Mr Vámos.
Wave of discounts and huge competition
According to index.hu, Spar has big plans to offer not only 10 but up to 40 percent off, and will fix the prices of 300 products between 31 May and 31 July as part of the price freeze extra promotion. Spar also highlighted that they are offfering 700-900 special offers per store.
An important condition is that the information on the mandatory action must be displayed in a prominent place and be available online.
CBA’s communications director, Attila Fodor, said that inflation and price rises on the world market have made consumers sensitive to prices.
Tesco has indicated that it will continue its price guarantee scheme, which has been running for a year now, keeping prices of 600 basic foodstuffs low. In addition, customers with the company’s Clubcard can enjoy discounts of up to 50 percent.
Lidl Hungary is also taking part in the competition,. They are also planning more discounts as they are preparing for 20-50 percent promotions.
Unexpected decision changes shopping in Hungary’s market leader supermarket chain
The German international discount retailer and Hungary’s market leader in that segment, Lidl, will introduce a drastic measure that will bring significant changes for its customers. According to Világgazdaság, Lidl’s aim is to reduce the number of false ads and discounts in their stores.
The Hungarian economy daily reported that Lidl started installing digital price tags in their stores. The measure was announced in a statement sent to the media outlet. Lidl Hungary said it sought innovation and would like to hinder errors. And there were a lot of examples of the latter. For instance, employees made mistakes in their Kalocsa store and put a HUF 4 (EUR 0.011) lower price on sour creams.
Digital price tags enable the change of prices and the dissemination of other information centrally. As a result, the number of pricing errors can be mitigated. Furthermore, the staff will not have to print and display the new prices in the store. Therefore, they will use less paper, which is also benefits the environment.
Világgazdaság argues that the decision came out of the blue though there were harbingers. In April, Lidl Hungary said they were discussing the possibility of such a measure. The statement came after the decision of the Portuguese Lidl to change traditional price tags to digital ones after a successful test period.
Following the model of Portuguese supermarkets
Thanks to the previously mentioned action, the Portuguese Lidl subsidiary may save up to 400 kilograms of paper in each of their stores, which is a considerable amount. Világgazdaság believes that the Hungarian stores have the potential to achieve similar results. In Portugal, Lidl saves 108 tonnes of paper. That means saving 1,485 trees. Based on the Portuguese model, all Lidl stores will switch to digital price tags until the first half of 2024.
Digital price tags enable real-time price changes and the communication of other vital information. Thus, this move improves store efficiency. Due to the automated stock management system, all data changes within seconds.
European Commission passes measures on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products
The European Commission has adopted extraordinary and temporary measures designed to curb the fallout from lifting the restrictions on the imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, the EC said in a statement on Tuesday.
The measures concern only four agricultural products, wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seed.
The measures, which entered into force on May 2 and will last until June 5, 2023, “aim to alleviate logistical bottlenecks concerning these products in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia,” the statement said.
The products will be free to circulate in the EU during that period, except for the five states set down in the decision, the EC said. Those states will continue to allow the transit of the products, it said.
Further, the EC is preparing an overall support package for the five member states hit the hardest by the glut of Ukrainian products, including financial support for farmers and “further measures to facilitate the transit of Ukrainian grain exports”, the EC said.
“The Commission is ready to re-impose preventive measures beyond the expiry of the current [measures] on 5 June 2023 as long as the exceptional situation continues,” the statement said.
Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania turned to the European Commission in April, calling for steps against the harm to farmers from Ukrainian agricultural products, which have been exempted from customs as a support measure for the war-torn country. Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Poland had previously introduced unilateral bans on those products, details HERE.
Some shops deceive their customers by using only euro prices in Hungary
There are multiple shops in Hungary which use only euro prices, which breaks the relevant laws. A reader of 24.hu bought earrings in the Etele mall, 11th district of Budapest, in an Australian jewellery shop, Lovisa. She found its price only in euros, but at the cashier’s desk, she realised the company calculates with a brutally high forint/euro exchange rate. Here is what you should know about such issues.
According to 24.hu, one of their readers bought earrings in the Australian-owned Lovisa jewellery shop in Budapest’s Etele mall. However, on the price tag, she found only a euro price. She calculated 400 HUF/EUR, which is realistic since shops regularly use a higher exchange rate than the official. The latter is around 372/EUR at the moment.
However, at the cashier’s desk, the shop assistant told her she must pay HUF 5,295 for the earrings even though they cost only EUR 11. That means the shop calculated a 481/EUR exchange rate, which is brutally high. The forint has never dropped that low against the EU’s national currency. The historic high was around 435/EUR last year.
Interestingly, on the invoice she received after the purchase, the price was only in forint. She asked around the shop how they calculated the HUF price but received no answer. According to the shop assistant, the HUF price tag fell off, but she saw no price tags on the ground. After checking out some other products, she realised that there were many tags without a HUF price. HERE you can check out some photos she made about the products. In some cases, there is a HUF price, while in other cases, there is not.
Marking the prices only in foreign currencies is illegal in Hungary
She wanted to talk with the manager but received no contact and could not find the company’s phone number or email address. The mall could not help her out with that either. Therefore, she reported the case to the consumer protection authority.
According to 24.hu, that is not the only shop in Budapest or Hungary which do not use HUF prices. Budapest’s consumer protection agency confirmed that, in Hungary, pricing in HUF is compulsory. The shop must indicate the sale price and the unit price in forint. That rule applies to the service fee, too. If a shop allows customers to pay in other currencies, they must mark the exchange rate visibly.
Interestingly, a shop does not need a phone number, email address or Hungarian website in Hungary. However, they have to mark their name and seat visibly. That practice makes it difficult for the customers to file a complaint.
Lovisa has not replied to 24.hu’s questions concerning the issue.
Hungarian-owned weapons company to arm rising Asian power
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala paid a visit to Vietnam last week. He arrived in the capital city of Hanoi with a business delegation of 15 companies. Four of these operate in the weapons industry.
One of the four companies is Aero Vodochody. Previously in 2021, Vietnam bought a dozen of L-39NG light combat aircrafts, produced by the firm. The shipment of the planes starts now in 2023. Why does it bear importance? Aero Vodochody is majority-owned by the Hungarian HSC Aerojet, which is in the hands of the Hungarian state, Portfolio explains.
Czech-Vietnamese weapon ties
Prague is the European Union’s main provider of weapons to Hanoi. The Czech arms industry is known to specialise in the modification and modernisation of old Soviet weaponry. They also produce such weapons, which are compatible with old Russian equipment. Considering that 80 percent of Vietnam’s arms stockpiles consist of old Russian/Soviet military gear, arms deals with Czechia seem like the perfect way to renew their weaponry.
The Czech company Omnipol is also part of the delegation. They are minority holders in Aero Vodochody, and owners of Aircraft Industries, which makes the L 410 NG, a twin-engine 19-seat aircraft. Vietnam may end up buying some of these cargo planes, along with radars and other Czech-made military equipment.
Hungarian ownership ties
Aero Vodochody was the largest Czech aircraft-producing company. HSC Aerojet bought the shares of the firm back in August 2021. At that time, Aerojet was in the ownership of current Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky. To conduct the purchase, the firm had to procure a loan of around 140 million euros, which Szalay-Bobrovniczky received from the Hungarian Development Bank, a state-owned financial institution.
After Szalay-Bobrovniczky was appointed minister, he sold his shares in Aerojet to Zsolt Hernádi, the CEO of the government-affiliated Hungarian oil and gas company, MOL. Later in October 2022 Hernádi transferred these to the N7 Holding National Defence Industrial Innovation Ltd (N7 Holding Nemzeti Védelmi Ipari Innovációs Zrt). This governmental holding is a conglomerate of different national defense industry firms.
In Spring 2022 the government ordered 12 of the L-39NG aircrafts for the Hungarian army. According to estimations, the deal may have cost up to HUF 60-70 billion (EUR 160 million-186 million).
In a nutshell, the Hungarian government granted a loan to a government-affiliated businessman to buy an aircraft company. Once Szalay-Bobrovniczky was appointed minister, he sold the rights to the company to another government-affiliated businessman, from whom then the government purchased it.
Read also:
Huge debts: Chinese megabanks financed the government’s purchase of Vodafone
The government-supported acquisition of the Hungarian branch of Vodafone was finalised. As a result of the deal, the Hungarian state received a 49 percent stake in the telecommunications company. The other 51 percent went to 4iG, a partner in the purchase, well-known for being close with the government.
As we wrote, the HUF 660 billion (HUF 1.75 billion) transaction was not a cheap one. (Acquisition closed: Vodafone to disappear from Hungary) To help finance the acquisition, 4iG borrowed EUR 750 million from the state-owned Eximbank (export-import bank). In this case, however, the bank only played the role of mediator between the company and a consortium of different banks, all of whom contributed to the loan. We now have a complete list of those financial institutions which took part in the process, Telex reported.
Chinese interests
Back in February, 4iG CEO Péter Fekete only identified JP Morgan as one of the participants of the consortium. We know now that a large bulk of the money came from so-called Chinese policy banks. These are all commercial banks, but they serve investment, development, import and export interests. As such, the Chinese state uses these institutions for their economic interests as well, for example when financing international projects.
These 4 megabanks are:
– ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China),
– CCB (China Construction Bank),
– ABC (Agricultural Bank of China),
– BOC (Bank of China)
They are the 4 largest banks in the world, all of them work with budgets of USD 4000-5000 billion.
As it’s reflected in the names, there is a sense of distinction when it comes to the field of investment. They are technically private companies, but the Chinese state holds a significant share in all of them, they are all based in Beijing, and their leaders occupy important roles in government and in the Chinese Communist Party. With the exception of ABC, these banks all took the lion’s share worth of the funding in the loan given by Eximbank.
Economic or political decision?
However, it was not only the Chinese banks that financed the loan. We can also add JP Morgan to the list, the Italian Intesa-group, and Hüsnü Özyeğin Turkish millionaire (through the use of a Dutch bank). This means that the money lent by Eximbank included Chinese, Anglo-Saxon, Italian and Turkish funds. Overall, this distribution makes it a low-risk investment for the banks included.
As of now, we do not have any information whether these donors were approached specifically, or if there was any competition. Regardless, the Chinese banks without a doubt dominate the consortium. It’s also yet unclear if the composition of the syndicate was based on market preferences by JP Morgan, or the inclusion of the Chinese partners was possibly decided on a higher political level.
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Good news: Fuel prices in Hungary could slip below psychological threshold
The Hungarian fuel market seems to be recovering recently. We are getting closer and closer to the average price of petrol and diesel reaching below HUF 600 (EUR 1.56). Among other things, the secretary general of the Hungarian Petroleum Association talked about this to the Hungarian news portal Index.
The fuel market is experiencing a turnaround
Ottó Grád, secretary general of the Hungarian Petroleum Association, told Index that the Hungarian fuel market is undergoing a turnaround at the moment. Mr Grád said that based on recently published data, fuel consumption in Hungary has decreased by 10 percent. According to him, this is a significant decrease overall; however, it is important to look at the context of this data.
This figure compares the change with the previous year. So, in addition to the decline in sales, it is worth pointing out that the baseline was also extremely high, with retail sales in January 2022 and the first half of the year as a whole being exceptionally high.
The secretary general currently sees that after the abolition of the official price, imports have started to revert to the previous period. He believes that in the near future, prices will be increasingly determined by normal market developments. These developments include the changes in the oil and forint exchange rates, and the European product subscription may also have some impact on the Hungarian market.
Prices are falling
Mr Grád pointed out that prices are currently falling. He said that Hungarian fuel prices seem to be “eroding” in comparison with neighbouring countries. Looking at the prices of products, the secretary general believes that a more moderate but further decrease in prices will be seen.
“In terms of basic price parameters, I see that average prices for both diesel and petrol could slowly slip below HUF 600,”
Ottó Grád told Index.
Eszter Bujdos, CEO of Holtankoljak.hu, summarised the Hungarian traffic data by saying that the start of sales at petrol stations is currently very slow. This is true for both small and large service stations, but there may be differences between regions.
“Last year at this time, the price of fuel was HUF 480 (EUR 1.25). Now, the average price is still above HUF 600. Furthermore, we should also see that the agricultural sector is slow to get going, as it has refuelled quite well before. This could also be a reason for a drop in traffic,”
she said.
Read alsoHere is why fuel is so expensive in Hungary and when it will change
MEP Gyöngyösi: National food assistance programme to replace price caps
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MEP Márton Gyöngyösi’s (Non-attached) thoughts via press release:
Over the last few months, Hungary has seen inflation sky-rocketing to nearly unprecedented heights and even breaking European records, especially in terms of food products. However, while other EU countries were able to keep the process under control, Hungary seems to have little chance to do so, “thanks” to the Orbán regime’s economic policy copied straight from the Socialist handbook.
The constant two-digit inflation puts a huge burden on every Hungarian citizen, hitting low-income families especially hard.
The Orbán regime has been trying to stop the negative processes by imposing price caps on various products, but these measures just drive inflation even higher, cause constant product shortages and put small retailers out of business.
Jobbik – Conservatives drafted a proposal to immediately lift price caps in order to release some of the inflation pressure, while providing targeted assistance to those in need.
Our new programme focuses on the protection of children and families: the National Food Assistance Programme (NÉP) would provide fair, means-tested support for underprivileged Hungarian families. The programme would allow these families to use assistance that would help them to buy healthy, locally grown and produced Hungarian foods, but would not allow non-eligible citizens (without a real need) to draw down the assistance across the board. As proposed by Jobbik – Conservatives, the programme’s costs could be covered from the HUF 1500 billion of additional, inflation-generated VAT revenue paid into the national budget as the additional tax on the prices driven higher by inflation.
Citizens could be eligible for the assistance as follows: Jobbik proposes to provide a regular, monthly assistance to families living at or below the “poverty threshold” as defined by the Central Statistical Office (HUF 65000/month/person) until inflation is reduced to one digit. Citizens registered for the programme would receive non-cash (and non-cashable) vouchers that could only be used for the purposes defined in the NÉP programme, and every commercial outlet would be obliged to exchange them for the goods identified in the programme. As a possible alternative, the Treasury could transfer the NÉP assistance to an electronic card as well.
The NÉP voucher/card could primarily be used to purchase healthy domestic food, vegetables, fruits, grains, bakery goods, fish, meat and dairy products (it would not be used for buying foods with high salt, sugar and fat content such as chips, sugary soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, energy drinks, tobacco products and other luxury goods), in compliance with the effective regulations on communal catering.
Disclaimer: the sole liability for the opinions stated rests with the author(s). These opinions do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Parliament.
Hungary scrutinises Ukrainian grain bound for local markets
Hungary will subject Ukrainian grain bound for markets in Hungary to “strict checks” to ensure compliance “with all food safety regulations”, Agriculture Minister István Nagy said on Monday.
In a statement issued by his ministry, Nagy said Hungary will offer any assistance it can to see Ukrainian grain reach its “original destination”: consumers in Africa and the Middle East.
He noted that Hungary, together with Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, have asked the European Commission to take immediate steps in the interest of reducing imports of Ukrainian grain that are driving down prices on local markets, but complained that “Brussels isn’t listening to the voice of Europe’s farmers”.
“We won’t allow Hungarian farmers to be put at a disadvantage because solidarity lanes aren’t functioning properly,” he added.
Read alsoFresh study on food inflation: Hungary not performing well
Retail sales growth declines in Hungary
Retail sales growth in Hungary dropped by an annual 4.8 percent in December, falling for the first time since the spring of 2021, data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Monday show.
Adjusted for calendar year effects, retail sales slipped by 3.9 percent. Adjusted food sales fell by 8.3 percent and non-food sales edged down 0.4 percent, while motor fuel sales rose by 1.3 percent after months of a double-digit growth.
Retail sales had increased by 0.6 percent in the previous two months, KSH said.
A detailed breakdown of the data shows adjusted sales fell at nearly all types of retail businesses, with second-hand shops, clothing and footwear shops, computer shops, pharmacies and petrol stations among the exceptions.
In December 2022:
Domestic retail sales amounted to HUF 1,765 billion at current prices.
Specialized and non-specialized food shops accounted for 48% of all retail sales, while the relevant figures for non-food retail trade and retail trade of petrol stations were 38% and 14% respectively.
In 2022, compared to the previous year, adjusted for calendar effects:
The volume of retail trade increased by 5.3%.
The volume of sales decreased by 1.5% in specialized and non-specialized food shops and rose by 5.8% in non-food retail trade and by 24.2% in automotive fuel retail trade.
Read alsoMedicine shortage can stay for a long time in Hungary
Hungary’s trade expected to be record-breaking in 2023 with this small country
Trade between Kosovo and Hungary is expected to be record-breaking at over 100 million euros in 2023, an official of the ministry of trade and foreign affairs said on Thursday.
Péter Sztáray, state secretary for security policy and energy security, told a Hungary-Kosovo business forum that bilateral trade has almost tripled since 2015 and Kosovo was Hungary’s 65th trade partner in 2021. Trade in that year totalled 96.1 million euros.
In the first ten months of 2022, Hungary’s main export products to Kosovo were livestock (19 percent), non-metallic minerals (9 percent), and telecommuninations, audio-recording and audio-player equipment (9 percent), he said. The three most important import products were telecommuninations, audio-recording and audio equipment (32 percent), textiles (13 percent) and other metal goods (12 percent), he added.
Hungary is ready to make every effort to further develop bilateral trade, he said, clearly demonstrated by the participation of 40 Hungarian and 15 Kosovan companies at the business forum, from areas as diverse as water management, food production, IT and construction, he added.
Read alsoKosovo, Montenegro and Romania among the countries supporting Budapest Pride
Medicine shortage can stay for a long time in Hungary
The current medicine shortage can stay with us for a while. One of the triggers of the drug shortage panic is when pharmacies run out of a highly advertised product and patients can not access their necessary medication. For instance, the post-event pill is often needed, even though it is hard to get. Let’s examine the reasons behind the drug shortages.
“The current situation could stay with us for a long time,”
said Zoltán Hankó, President of the Hungarian Chamber of Pharmacists (MGYK) to qubit.hu about the shortage of medicines. He listed the following factors:
- Remaining problems of the energy crisis
- The advertisements are full of certain products produced by certain pharmaceutical companies at a discount
- GPs often prescribe prescription medicines that are not available in pharmacies
- Supply routes for active substances manufactured mainly in China and India are not easy
- As the world has become increasingly concentrated on the pharmaceutical industry, if there is a problem with a company or a component, it affects the rest of the world
Advertised non-prescription medicines are popular, but unavailable products are also prescribed
As a result of television advertising, which mainly focuses on price promotions and presents medicines as consumer products, many people are alarmed when there is a shortage of a particular drug. However, it is impossible to imagine a situation in which a pharmacist cannot offer a patient an alternative that can achieve the same goal with the same component.
Apart from over-the-counter medicines, many products containing active antibiotic ingredients are not available. There are also problems with the availability of anti-anxiety drugs and insulin.
Another problem, according to Hankó, is that GPs often prescribe prescription medicines that are not available in pharmacies. The solution is for the prescribing doctor’s software to show in real-time that the medicine is not available, but what alternatives he can prescribe instead. In autumn 2020, MGYK’s president submitted an official proposal to the competent authority, but so far nothing has been done.
There is demand for it, despite the fact that it is expensive and difficult to get
In Hungary, a total of 73,632 pills of post-event contraceptive medicines were bought in pharmacies from January 2020 to August 2022. This represents an average of 2,301 pills per month and 27,612 pills per year.
According to hvg.hu, Előd Novák, a politician of Mi Hazánk, was looking for proof of a regularly made claim, declaring that “abortion is the leading cause of death”.
“It is not a recent debate whether the emergency contraceptive pill is an abortifacient, but according to the current state of science, the emergency contraceptive pills available in Hungary can only prevent pregnancy, they are not suitable for abortion” – says Dr. Júlia Benkovics, gynecologist, to hvg.hu.
The regular hormonal contraceptive pill works on the same principle as the post-menstrual pill, but it inhibits ovulation by taking a lower dose of progestin. If the method works, there is no “embryo loss”.
Already in 2015, one type of this medicine was made available without a prescription, but the Ministry of Human Resources insisted that it should remain available only with a prescription. This was explained officially as “patient safety risks.”
However, the emergency contraception system in our country is not working well under the current framework, according to Benkovic. The prescription is usually written at the gynecology clinic where you live or at your GP. However, it may not be possible to do this immediately, so the patient may go to a private practice, where the prescription and possible examination will be charged in addition to the basic price of the medicine.
It is not yet known whether the government plans to make this system more difficult or easier. But the so-called “child protection” referendum and the case of the “heartbeat law” could be seen as a forerunner of further regulation.
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Hungary to ship 10,000 tonnes of grain from Ukraine to Africa
Hungary will finance the shipping of 10,000 tonnes of grain worth 3.5 million US dollars from Ukraine to Africa as part of its efforts to resolve the global food crisis, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said after meeting his Congolese counterpart in Budapest on Monday.
Though Hungary and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are geographically far apart, they are both affected by global security threats, Szijjártó told a press conference he held jointly with Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen’Apala, according to a foreign ministry statement.
Szijjártó cited the example of the negative effects of the Ukraine war, such as the food crisis which affects Africa the most.
Both countries have an interest in peace being achieved as soon as possible, Szijjártó said, urging dialogue, a ceasefire and peace talks.
Concerning bilateral economic ties, Szijjártó highlighted the electric vehicle industry and battery production as a key link between Hungary and the DR Congo. Hungary has the world’s third largest EV battery production capacity and will soon be ranked first thanks to the investment projects under way, the minister said.
Szijjártó noted that one of the most important raw materials used in EV battery production was cobalt, with more than 70 percent of the cobalt used by the sector coming from the DR Congo.
The future success of the global EV industry depends greatly on the unimpeded extraction and supply of cobalt, Szijjártó said.
Several Hungarian companies will get to contribute to this, the minister said, noting that a 600 million dollar infrastructure development programme aimed at linking the DR Congo with Zambia and Tanzanian ports will be headed by Hungarian construction industry companies.
The project will shorten the time it takes for the DR Congo’s raw materials to reach sea ports from over a month to around ten days, Szijjártó said. The project’s preparatory phase is under way and the Hungarian companies involved have signed the concession contract, he said.
On another subject, Szijjártó said the DR Congo was the fifth largest recipient of aid from the Hungarian government’s Hungary Helps humanitarian programme.
Hungary will offer scholarships to ten Congolese university students each year starting in 2023, he said.
Meanwhile, Szijjártó welcomed that under a collocation agreement, Hungary will open a diplomatic mission on the premises of the Serbian embassy in Kinshasa later this year.
Szijjártó also said that Lutundula was the first Congolese foreign minister to pay an official visit to Hungary, adding that this highlighted the importance of the two countries marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year.
Read alsoAfrican natural gas could end the dependence on Russia for Hungary
Our wallets have felt it too, imports have become brutally more expensive
KSH industrial production and external trade data are now available:
Industrial output growth slows to crawl in Nov
The growth rate of Hungarian industrial output in November slowed to an annual 0.5 percent from 5.9 percent in the previous month, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Monday.
Adjusted for the number of working days, output grew by 0.8 percent.
Growth in car manufacturing was up “significantly”, KSH said. Computer, electronics and optical equipment, as well as food, drinks and tobacco saw a drop in output.
In the Jan-Nov period, output grew by an annual 6 percent, while month on month it fell by 0.7 percent, based on seasonally and working day-adjusted data.
Hungary trade deficit EUR 1.283 bn in Nov
Hungary posted a 1.283 billion euro trade deficit in November after a gap of 923 million in October, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Monday, presenting a first reading of the data.
In November 2022:
The value of exports amounted to EUR 13,132 million (HUF 5,364 billion) and that of imports to EUR 14,415 million (HUF 5,900 billion).
The deficit of the external trade in goods was EUR 1.3 billion (HUF 536 billion).
The share of EU Member States (EU27_2020) was 78% in exports and 63% in imports.
In November 2022 compared to a year earlier:
The value of exports increased by 18% and that of imports by 29% in EUR terms.
Read alsoShops are tricking the public to hide inflation in Hungary
Hungary trade deficit EUR 923 m in October
Hungary had a EUR 923 million trade deficit in October, a second reading of data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Thursday shows.
The gap was revised downward from EUR 1.009 billion in a first reading of data released on December 8.
Exports rose by 22 percent to EUR 12.5 billion, while imports increased by 26 percent to EUR 13.4 billion.
Hungary’s terms of trade deteriorated by 5.9 percent during the period as the forint weakened 16 percent to the euro and 37 percent to the dollar.
Export volume rose by an annual 11 percent, while import volume was up 7.6 percent. Adjusted for calendar year effects, export volume was up 10 percent and import volume 8.8 percent.
Read alsoHungarian central bank has decided on the base rate
How did Russian sanctions affect the Hungarian economy?
The natural gas price rose by 300 percent, while the price of electricity grew by 400 percent. The volume of exports grew, yet the balance sheet is negative by EUR 4.9 billion compared to last year. Just like with every country, the war in Ukraine caused a lot of trouble in the overall economic situation. But what are the details? How did sanctions against Russia affect the Hungarian economy?
According to VG.hu, Hungarian exports were growing in the first half of 2022. The problem is that imports also grew drastically. This means that the terms of trade worsened by a large margin this year. Experts say that this is due to rising natural gas and electricity prices. Hungary trades a lot more, but it still imports more than it exports, which has been the trend in 2021 and 2022.
Details
The most significant increase in imports was in the case of natural gas, oil and electricity. The price of these grew by 275 percent and 420 percent respectively. However, there was a significant 150-200 percent rise in prices in terms of instruments, oils, metallurgical products, cereals, vegetables and fruits.
In terms of exports, electronic items made up 28.9 percent and the car industry made up 18.6 percent of the total volume. A significant rise is observable in agricultural products. In this, the agricultural industry grew by 60 percent, animal husbandry by 31.2 percent and the food industry by 25.7 percent. Other industries brought the expected growth rates, only the manufacturing industry experienced a decrease in exports.
- Read also: Talks start on Oman crude, gas imports
One important thing has to be mentioned: fertilisers. The natural gas shortages made fertiliser production a lot more expensive and it led to a drastic growth in fertiliser prices. Now there is a shortage of fertiliser and a scramble for the remaining supplies. All over Europe, countries experienced immense growth in fertiliser exports.
The direction of trade is still towards the European market, which has grown since the start of the war and it now stands at 76.8 percent. A significant change here was that the United States became one of the top 10 trading partners for Hungary while the United Kingdom got out of this category. The largest trading partner still remains Germany.
Effect of the sanctions on the Hungarian economy
The problem was caused by the decrease in exports towards the Community of Independents Nations. Exports towards Tajikistan decreased by 88.9 percent, 43 percent towards Turkmenistan, 31.1 percent towards Belarus and 23.5 percent towards Russia. A significant portion of exports now cannot reach Russia, which imported a lot of Hungarian products. Despite the drastic fall, this market did not make up a significant portion of Hungarian exports. Of course, there was a drop in the export towards Ukraine too. The drop in exports is not that significant for the Hungarian economy.
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Hungary C/A deficit reaches EUR 1.556 bn in October
Hungary’s current account had a 1.556 billion euro deficit in October, preliminary monthly data released by the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) on Thursday show.
Hungary had a EUR 1.048 billion trade deficit for the month, the balance of a 1.483 billion deficit in trade of goods and a EUR 435 million surplus in trade of services.
The primary income balance showed a deficit of 371 million euros as investors repatriated 544 million from direct investments.
Capital transfers from the European Union came to 63 million euros for the month.