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• Estimation of Armington elasticities: case of vegetables in Mongolia

  Amar Uuld

  Robert Magda

  Views:

  390

  Mongolian people often consume meat more than vegetable in diet due to traditional nomadic culture. Nowadays, the Mongolian people’s diet has been changing who consume more vegetables with associated urbanization (half of the population live in urban areas, mostly in the capital city). Even though vegetable consumption has been increased recently, the vegetable market is still a high reliance on imports and threatening national food security. Since 2016, the Mongolian government has especially paid attention to increasing vegetable's domestic production and substitution to import vegetables (Ministry of food and Agriculture, 2017). Therefore, this paper provided to substitution elasticity (the Armington elasticity) between import vegetables and domestic vegetables in Mongolia. Additionally, we estimated the home bias value of vegetables. The so-called Armington elasticities are widely used for computable general equilibrium (CGE) analysis, which determines a degree of substitution between import goods and domestically produced goods. Several of the authors studied Armington elasticities at the product level. We choose six vegetables (such as potato, garlic and onion, tomato, carrot and turnips, cabbage, and cucumber) related to lack of information. The empirical result shows that the Armington elasticities in the long-run higher than the short-run with exception of potato which means that products are similar in the long-run. However, our estimated Armington elasticities are quite lower than the previous studies result which means that Mongolian people indicated more prefer home growing vegetables than import vegetables. Moreover, we found that the home bias value is high in the short-run even long -run, this appears to be a higher relative weight on home vegetables.

  JEL code: F13, Q17, Q18

• Strategy for the restaurant business in Russia in terms of sanctions and import substitution

  71-80

  Irina Andreeva

  Tatiana Litvinenko

  Andrey Chalkin

  Views:

  305

  This article describes the situation established in August 2014 in Russia. The article considers an example of a famous restaurant «Metropol» (Moscow), taking into account the prevailing situation in Russia. The study of customer attendance, assortment and price policy towards the main products forming the restaurant’s menu was conducted. As a result, recommendations were given, in order to preserve the client base and revise the assortment of dishes.

  JEL CODE: M21

• Efficiency analysis of dairy farms in the Northern Great Plain region using deterministic and stochastic DEA models

  113-122

  Tímea Gál

  Views:

  272

  Running any dairy enterprise is a risky activity: the profitability of the enterprise is affected by the price fluctuation of feed and animal health products from inputs, as well as by the fluctuation of end-product prices. Under these circumstances, it is essential for the cattle breeders, in order to survive, to harness the reserves in management as effectively as possible. In this research the efficiency and risk of 32 sample dairy farms were analysed in the Northern Great Plain Region from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) by applying classical Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and stochastic DEA models. The choice of this method is justified by the fact that there was not such an available reliable database by which production functions could have been defined, and DEA makes possible to manage simultaneously some inputs and outputs, i.e. complex decision problems. By using DEA, the sources that cause shortfall on inefficient farms can be identified, analysed and quantified, so corporate decision support can be reinforced successfully. A disadvantage of the classical DEA model is that the stochastic factors of farming cannot be treated either on the side of inputs or outputs; therefore, their results can be adopted with reservations, especially in agricultural models. This may have been because we could not discover that many agricultural applications. Considering the price of inputs and outputs as probability variables, 5000 simulation runs have been done in this research. As a result, it can be stated that at which intervals of the input and output factors can become competitive and the fluctuation of these factors can cause what level of risk at each farm.

• The situation of agricultural sector in Hungary – trends and territorial aspects

  Katalin Molnárné Barna

  Tamás Molnár

  Melinda Koczor-Keul

  Views:

  474

  Based on its geographical features, Hungary is basically an agricultural country. The proportion of the production area within the total area of the country is approximately 80% and the proportion of arable land is 60%. This makes our country one of the first in the European Union. In the EU, only Denmark and the United Kingdom have a higher proportion of agricultural land. Hungary accounts for only 3% of the total agricultural area of ​​the EU-27 Member States, however, it plays a significant role in the production of certain products. (Harangi-Rákos, 2013)

  In addition, the climate is favorable for agricultural production, which also strengthens the country's agricultural character. Throughout history, we have rightly been given the honorable name “pantry” (Marosi, 2009), which was true both within the Monarchy and Europe. In the socialist system the agricultural country became a so-called “industrial-agrarian” country due to the violent industrializations.

  Beyond industrial development, the service sector plays an important role in the national economy due to its technology-intensive nature. In addition, agricultural production is still significant in Hungary (Lakner et al. 2020). The agricultural sector is significantly involved in the production of the gross domestic product (Fróna-Kőmíves 2019) and in the positive development of the export-import balance. During the 2008 world crisis, it was thanks to this sector, among other factors, that the recession that affected our country did not deepen. The domestic consumption is largely covered by domestically produced commodities (Csatáriné, 2019)

• Proposals for low-carbon agriculture production strategies between 2020 and 2030 in Hungary

  5-15

  Csaba Fogarassy

  András Nábrádi

  Views:

  508

  When viewed from the perspective of climate policy, agriculture as a separate sector is one of the most difficult development areas to assess. One of the reasons for this is the problem of the localization of greenhouse gas emitters, caused by the fact that production takes place in small or dispersed production units. The special circumstance that unit production takes place in complex interactive systems (food, feed, energy sources, main products, by-products, etc.) is yet another special factor, which in addition makes it significantly more difficult to measure and identify the GHGs they emit than if they were a uniform production plant. Additionally, there are few sectors outside agriculture where decision-makers encounter such strong opposition and lobby interests when developing limiting regulations. This stems from the fact that following World War II, European decision-makers and the Common Agricultural Policy elevated agriculture to a prominent role whose importance was indisputable. As a result, both climate policy and other measures that would result in any reduction of the priority of the sector are very difficult to implement, since the players involved always reason that limitations would restrict their competiveness and the security of their production. In addition, the uncertain nature of regulatory elements also poses a grave problem. As an example, the name of the sector itself – the LULUCF (Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry) sector – shows that the strategy for reducing the greenhouse gasses emitted by the whole sector would be significantly different if these units were treated separately (agricultural land use, forest, not-cultivated areas). Taking the above into account, the present study aims to identify development directions that in turn allow those low-carbon development directions to be pinpointed within animal husbandry and plant production that have the greatest feasibility and can contribute to decreasing the GHG environmental load exerted by agriculture.

• „Green” Public Relations (Public relations in the sector of products and services for Polish agriculture)

  67-74

  Sebastian Włodarski

  Views:

  239

  The field of Public Relations has undoubtedly been assuming growing importance in Poland. Understood as an element of marketing communication or a function of company management, it has a significant impact on company’s external and internal environment. According to Puls Biznesu3 the value of the Polish PR market amounted to 250m PLN in 2005, which is a 20% increase as compared to 2004. According to the author Urszula S ´wiatl⁄owska, “the turnover of PR agencies is growing and even smaller companies demonstrate their interest in the services”. Considering this, it can be assumed that PR activities will soon be initiated by many smaller Polish companies, often connected with the agricultural sector. The change discussed by the authors of the article reflects the phenomenon of PR’s growing importance among other communication channels in Poland.

• The potential economic impact of the Western corn rootworm resistant GM variety on maize production in Hungary

  87-93

  Bertalan Kruppa

  Views:

  259

  The paper examines that how the application of the MON88017 GM maize variety could influence the profitability of maize production in Hungary. The most important benefit of this biotech crop lies in its reduced need for chemical use and the additional yield comparing to conventional varieties. Among the economical disadvantages there is the uncertain market of GM products in the EU. After weighing all these factors the results conclude that the farmers could reach an income surplus by growing this GM variety. Although, this surplus is significant only if a similar positive yield impact is achieved under the Hungarian conditions as in the USA.

• QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH OF FACTORS (CONVENIENCE OF ACCESS AND GENDER) INFLUENCING THE FOOD STORE CHOICE IN NAGYKŐRÖS

  Kata Földi

  Zoltán Szakály

  Beáta László

  Views:

  184

  The objective of the research is to analyze the food purchasing decisions of Hungarian customers depending on priority factors (convenience of access and gender) that impact the food store choice.

  To identify the characteristics of food shopping behaviour, we conducted a customer survey of 220 individuals in the city of Nagykőrös. The data collection was carried out using a standard questionnaire and an online survey on the Nagykőrös public life community social media portal, and by informing shoppers about the possibility to fill in the questionnaire in the Municipality’s posts. The sample can be considered representative based on the gender distribution of the primary food purchaser.

  During the analysis of the data, in addition to descriptive statistics, we utilized factor analysis to describe the mindset of the customers, and created segments based on the factors influencing the choice of store using cluster analysis.

  For the vast majority of consumers, the primary determinant in selecting a store is the affordable price level, regardless of how often they make purchases. When shopping on a daily basis, customers prioritize the store’s proximity to their residence, promotional discounts, and variety of products available. Men tend to value a relaxed ambiance and convenient parking, while women prioritize special deals and competitive prices when choosing their regular shopping location

  We have identified price sensitivity, accessibility, location, and atmosphere as key factors. Throughout our research, we have categorized customers into four distinct clusters: Action-oriented family members (36.1%), Conscious shopping family members (29.9%), Price-conscious seniors (20.6%), and Curious beginners (13.4%).

  A significant hurdle for Hungarian retail companies is to enhance the quantity of their loyal customers, which they can solely achieve by taking market share from their rivals (primarily other retail companies). Initially, they must determine whether their customer base favours their kind of store for everyday or bulk shopping. They must cater to the demands of their target customer base (potentially the clusters established by our research) in relation to the key factors influencing store selection and purchase frequency, in order to attain success in their business. We suggest utilizing the factors that influence store selection as segmentation criteria.

• The choice between conventional and organic farming. A Hungarian example

  55-58

  Imre Fertő

  Csaba Forgács

  Views:

  288

  The paper deals with organic produce in one of the largest and, concerning organic production one of the most diffused counties in Hungary, Pest County located in the north-central part of the country. Factors influencing farmers’decision on adopting or not e.g. farm size, farm type, location, structure, market for organic products, existence of organic AEM were analysed. Hypotheses based on previous empirical literature were tested by a model explicitly accounting for the effects of farm-specific variables like age, education, size of farms and share of rented land. Logit model was estimated on a cross-section data set of Hungarian farmers for the period 2007. It appears that education has a positive impact on the choice between conventional and organic farming, and, the size of the farm in hectares has a negative effect on this choice.Age and some general considerations on environmental friendly technologies do not have a significant effect on choice between conventional and organic farming.

• Swot analysis and identification of the needs, potential and development strategies of the fruit and vegetable sector in Montenegro

  15-20

  Radislav Jovović

  Dragoljub Janković

  Views:

  284

  Fruit and vegetable production in Montenegro benefits from naturally favourable conditions in terms of climate, soil and water resources. Such conditions enable high quality fruit, vegetables and vines to be grown, and fruit and vegetable production and viticulture have a long tradition as well as the cultivation of a wide assortment of produce. A significant number of Montenegrin households therefore deal with horticultural and wine production, although on a small-scale. Along with the global market trends, the level of domestic consumption, the expected evolution of the distribution system in Montenegro and the planned dynamic developments in the tourist sector, these natural conditions contribute to creating basic conditions for the development of the considered sector. Market opportunities are favourable and represent an additional contributing factor towards its development. In spite of the favourable climate for production in this sector and the supportive market opportunities, the real value of Montenegrin products at sector level is quite low. We conduct a SWOT analysis of the sector aimed to find out its potential as well as the needs of the sector. Our starting hypothesis is that the potential of this sector in Montenegro is greater than current activity/production, and that suitable strategies can provide higher results in this sector. The main outcome of this paper will be our suggestions for improvement within the sector. The SWOT analysis will be completed according to the PESTEL categorisation, after which Opportunities and Threats will be grouped into three major strategic categories: “New market trends”, “Sector financing” and “Structure and functioning of the value chain”. The SWOT analysis outcomes, when regarded alongside a review of global market trends and domestic production potential, lead to strategies for the improvement of the sector.

• Consumer willingness to pay a premium for a functional food in Ghana

  51-59

  Farida Badu-Gyan

  Victor Owusu

  Views:

  367

  Interest in functional foods has been growing in sub-Saharan Africa due to consumer concerns with diet and nutrition. This paper analyses consumer awareness, perceptions and effects of the determinants of consumer willingness to pay (WTP) a premium for Moringa bread in Ghana. An ordered probit model is employed. The empirical results indicate that consumer knowledge of the nutritional and health benefits of Moringa bread is what matters most to consumers in respect of their WTP a higher premium for the product. Consumers with knowledge on Moringa products are more willing to pay above 50% price premiums for Moringa bread. Fruitful policy recommendations are made in the paper.

  JEL code: D12

• The Position Losing of Animal Husbandry in Agriculture

  63-66

  Zsolt Nemessályi

  Views:

  208

  The author in the presentation deals with the fact that what caused the decline of animal husbandry in contrast with plant production; how this unfavourable ratio of 60:40 could evolve when comparing plant production and animal husbandry What the reason is for the decreasing animal stock; and how the effect of changes in the elements of the economic efficiency such as yields, prices, subsidies, production value, inputs, costs, profits can be evaluated in case of more important animal husbandry enterprises highlighting several significant animal products.

• Structured commodity finance

  77-83

  Péter Suták

  Views:

  372

  Over the past years, the financial stock market – providing the capital demand that is the result of stockpiling and the characteristic strong seasonality observed in the agricultural sector – has increasingly grown and become more “used” by market participants. Its size had reached an annual value of 200 billion HUF, of which agricultural products had received the largest proportion through the various market participants (producers, integrators, traders, feed producers, mills). In the meantime, this market had become part of the competition between the commercial banks that are the largest financers of the sector, due to which the financing credit institutions had undertaken increasing risk levels, with respect to both degree of financing and the VAT financing related to stockholding. The practice of commodity financing by banks display a rather varied picture at present. Considering the exceptional degree of fall in prices and the actions of companies totally disregarding business ethics in 2008, it seems necessary to reveal the full scope of risks inherent in commodity financing. The primary aim of such an exercise is to ensure the prudent operation of refinancing activities for commercial banks. The inherent risks in trade financing – as has been proven by the experiences of previous years – are not found primarily in the goods themselves, but rather at the actual storage facility and also emerge in relation to clients, as well as the inadequate and ineffective risk management of price volatility by the financers. Therefore, the establishment of banking risk management and risk prevention techniques, including the development of new financing procedures become indispensable, minimizing all types of risks that had emerged in previous years.

• Analysis of household crop commercialization in Nigeria

  Olubunmi Olanike Alawode

  Olumuyiwa Lekan Makinde

  Views:

  462

  Nigeria is experiencing a gradual shift from subsistence to commercialized agriculture, thereby increasing involvement and activities at different nodes of agribusiness. Participation of farmers in markets is an important determinant of well-being and development, and one of the pathways towards economic growth. This study analysed household crop commercialization in Nigeria. The secondary data used were the General Household Survey (GHS, 2018) Wave 4. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, household crop commercialization index (HCCI) and ordered probit regression model.

  Mean age of Nigerian farmers was 50.04 years (±15.22), majority (85.68%) were male, married (82.51%), and 72.14% had formal education. Farming is viable in all the geopolitical zones and majority (87.64%) of the farmers were from the rural sector, holding a mean total plot size of 12.61(±15.63) hectares, and planted 3 crops on the average. The most produced crop categories are cereals (46.75%), tubers (20.70%) and legumes (19.00%); legumes and cereals are highest in the North, and tubers in the South. Subsistence households were 32.81% (HCCI=0), only 1.71% of the households were fully commercial (HCCI=100), while semi-subsistence households (0≤HCCI≤100) constitute 65.48%. Years of education (p<0.05) and crop production in North East and North West zones (p<0.01) constrain commercialization, while at p<0.01, crop production in the rural sector and the South zones, and increased land holding are the drivers of household crop commercialization in Nigeria.

  Nigerian farming households are mainly semi-subsistence and are diversified in crop production. Nigeria relies more on market participation of the semi-subsistence households, through their marketable surplus, to feed her teeming population and for exports. Further attention on rural infrastructure development in all geopolitical zones and awareness creation on producing market oriented products will increase agribusiness activities. This will generate green decent jobs that will take unemployed youths off the streets of urban centres. This is in tune with the economy diversification bid and the new Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

  JEL CODE – Q13

• Regional identity in rural development: Three case studies of regional branding

  19-24

  Lies Messely

  Joost Dessein

  Ludwig Lauwers

  Views:

  534

  Within the globalizing world, regions and their identities are subjected to great pressure. At present, places are engaged in a process of “territorial competition” in an integrated world economy. The identity of the region can be used as a starting point to brand a region and differentiate it from others. In the regional branding process, the region as a whole becomes a product or brand and offers a “basket” of regional products and services. Regional branding is aimed at creating a more distinctive image or reputation, which helps to increase regional competitiveness. This paper discusses the possibility of regional identity as a mobilizing force for rural development, by studying best practice examples of regional branding. Using the grounded theory approach, we conducted interviews in three case regions:West Cork (Ireland), Groene Woud (the Netherlands) and Pajottenland (Belgium). The study of these cases led to the formulation of critical success factors on the organization of regional branding. Comparative analysis of the cases demonstrates the importance of passionate initiators as ambassadors of the region and the advantage of a well-coordinated internal network in the region. Next to that, the internal marketing of the region is considered an important critical success factors.

   

• HOUSEHOLDS’ FOOD CONSUMPTION BEHAVIOUR DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: EVIDENCE FROM RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN SOUTH AFRICA

  Hilda Lefophane

  Felicity Ntombikayiso Mkasi

  Mapula Hildah Lefophane

  Views:

  300

  The food consumption behaviour of households has been affected by the lockdown restrictions that were implemented to reduce the COVID-19 infection rate. This study was aimed at analysing the food consumption behaviour of rural households during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. To achieve this, a simple random technique was used to collect data from 120 in Merry Pebble (MP) Stream Village. Thereafter, an Ordered Probit Model was used to examine the extent to which households have increased, decreased or maintained the same quantity of food consumed during COVID-19. The results indicated that 46.7% of the rural households had consumed less food during COVID-19 pandemic, 32.5% consumed about the same amount of food, and 20.8% consumed more food. The variables that contributed towards a decrease in food consumption are employment status, household size, loss of income, and social relief grants. On the contrary, bulk buying and food parcels had stabilised food consumption, while the number of employed people in a household and food bought from restaurants contributed towards an increase in food consumption during COVID-19 pandemic. With regard to consumption behaviour per food item, fresh produce, meat, snacks and fast food were consumed less during COVID-19, while there was a constant consumption in dairy products, and an increase in consumption of canned food, frozen food, prepared food, grains and water. The study recommends that the government should continue with the economic and social relief programmes that were created during COVID-19, as they play an important role in increasing and stabilising food consumption by rural households.

• Country-specific determinants of horizontal and vertical intra-industry agri-food trade: the case of Bulgaria and Romania

  69-75

  Attila Jámbor

  Views:

  249

  The article analyses patterns and country-specific determinants of agri-food trade of Bulgaria and Romania with the European Union. As literature focusing on agricultural aspects of the topic is limited, the paper seeks to contribute to the literature by providing up to date results and suggestions as well as by identifying the determinants of horizontal and vertical intra-industry trade of the Bulgaria and Romania after EU accession. Results suggest that intra-industry agri-food trade is mainly of vertical nature, referring to trade of different quality products. Results verify that determinants of horizontal and vertical IIT are similar and suggest that economic size and FDI are positively, while factor endowments and distance are negatively related to both sides of IIT. Results are mainly in line with the majority of empirical literature in the field.

  JEL code: Empirical Studies of Trade – F14

• Farmers’ experience in adoption and usage of ICT solutions for agriculture in the Republic of Macedonia

  25-30

  László Vasa

  Nikola Trendov

  Views:

  439

  The adoption of new of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in farming activities becoming crucial for developing countries in order to meet the challenges of rapidly growing populations, urbanization and arable agricultural land declination. Because of it, each farmers’ organization or farmer has to concern their agricultural products and services more towards modernized and ICT related routine. The attempt has been made to analyze the reaction of the Macedonian farmers towards ICTs as a source of reliable and timely information about e-banking, online purchasing/selling, marketing, input and output optimization, increased revenue, remote farm management process etc. Semi-structured questionnaire was used for interviewing 132 semi-experienced and experienced farmers that use ICTs as sample for the research. The data were analyzed using appropriate statistics tool like correlation and Rank Based Quotient (RBQ). The findings showed that farmers stressed the cost of ICTs, lack of training, trust level in the government institutions, and lack of ICT infrastructure are thresholds for ICTs adoption and use in agriculture. This research contributes to understand the adoption and use of ICT, identify the constraints associated with ICT use and propose recommendations towards the improvement of ICTs for agriculture in the Republic of Macedonia.

• A comparison of the Hungarian mangalitza and dutch organic pork chains

  73-76

  Krisztina Pocsai

  Views:

  262

  The aim of this paper is to present the Hungarian mangalitza pig and Dutch organic pig supply chains and, in interrogating the differences between the two sectors, to make suggestions for the efficient operation of the Hungarian mangalitza breeding sector. The information about the two was sourced by a depth interview and literature reviews. It is established that there are few similarities between the two segments. In both sectors, the pigs are kept outdoors in large paddocks, there are also National Associations: in Hungary, the Association of Mangalitza Breeders (NAMB), in The Netherlands, the Organic Pork Growers. They hold a general meeting every year, where they discuss issues such as volume, quality, price, marketing and the future challenges and opportunities. There is strong demand both for the mangalitza and also for Dutch organic pork products on foreign markets. The main difference between them is their information systems. In The Netherlands, information flows via FarmingNet, but in the mangalitza sector, no such system exists. Yet, such a system would represent a breaking point for the adequate flow of data and efficient production for the NAMB, because then, Hungarian farmers would be forced to supply data.

• The most relevant factors and trends in energy cooperation between Kazakhstan and China, focused on renewable energy sources (RES)

  Aidana Chalgynbayeva

  Attila Bai

  Views:

  726

  This paper analyses the good political and legal environments, mutually beneficial strategic policy, along with level of economic development and growth, superior geographical conditions and cultural integration degree of the important effecting factors of the energy cooperation between Kazakhstan and China. By using the main points listed above this article refers to related trade and investment theories, and it’s divided into two aspects: Kazakhstan's export of Chinese energy products with time series data 1998-2014 and China's investment in Kazakhstan's energy sector with time series data 1998-2016 to construct the vector autoregressive model (VAR).We selected relevant variables and data to construct an econometric model from the perspectives of trade and investment to make an empirical analysis on the influencing factors of energy cooperation between Kazakhstan and China. Our results show that China's demand for large-scale market and for opening to the outside world as well as Kazakhstan’s great energy potential are the most important factors their cooperation. It can be stated that in our days Kazakh legislation is suitable for promoting the Chinese energy investments, but in the long run it would be beneficial to mobilize national capital especially in RES investments and research. In the end, we found the most important reserves in competitiveness of electricity and heat (both from fossil and renewable energy sources) are power grid consolidation and waste heat utilization in the short run.

  JEL CODE: F14; Q43

• Education, scientific-research and consulting work in agriculture of Serbia

  11-18

  Drago Cvijanović

  Views:

  273

  Serbia has small number of producers2 which have encircled production system (from primaryproduction to processing), which do business successful, introduce marketing strategy and production standards, registered their products' mark of origin, succeed to export on EU market, use internet or has its own internet domain, etc. For creation of such, competitive and modern agricultural producer, there is necessity for production specialization, any kind of cooperation and better organization. In same time, there is more space for bigger financial support of state, as expert and consultative support „created“ through strong partnership between public and private sector, i.e. tough and constructive cooperation of state and farmers sector, like as institutions of education, science, research and consultative work. In the paper was given review of number and territorial dispersion of educational institutions, current scientific-research work and consultative functions in agriculture in Serbia, than was pointed out main problems in their functioning and previous work and also proposed concrete suggestions for overcoming of existing limitations, as for modernization /reorganization of those institutions, in a way to be more useful for agricultural producers.

• Organic food sourcing, processing and distribution: a case of satisfying a growing market

  5-10

  Bruce L. Ahrendsen

  Peter Bielik

  Elena Horská

  Views:

  440

  A case study of an organic food company in the Slovak Republic involved in producing and sourcing inputs, food processing and distribution is presented. The case is based on a June 2014 “live” case study prepared for students in International MBA in Agribusiness programs at the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Warsaw University of Life Sciences and the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev. The company was established in 2001 with the objective to bring organic food to health conscious consumers. The company grows organic spelt grain, wheat, rye, buckwheat, herbs and apples on its 156 ha and 400 ha of owned and rented farmland. The company further processes these crops into more than 40 finished products. Students are presented with company information and summaries of a company visit and discussions with management. Students perform PEST and SWOT analyses, identify a shortage of owned and leased land as a problem the company must address, conduct research and analysis, and recommend product specification contracts as a solution to the problem.

• Liquid bio-fuels in Hungary: effects and contradictions

  89-94

  Attila Bai

  Views:

  285

  The increase of living standard requires ever more energy, despite energy saving measures. Domestic growth was 100 PJ between 2000 and 2006, and 77% of the total utilization was importe (Hungarian Central Statistical Office, 2008).Sustainability was endangered not only in our energy and commerce policy. Our domestic natural conditions are suitable for plant production; however, the stagnation of the domestic population and decreasing livestock numbers restrict in land marketing. Therefore, significant surpluses from year to year had to be stored and sold abroad, and the fact that the interventional purchase of corn and the expected stringent new EU regulation of the sugar beet sector, make the strategic significance of these branches uncertain. The difficult marketing opportunities make the better utilization of our opportunities in producing liquid bio-fuels possible from marketing aspects, while environmental issues and realizing the EU directions enforce to do so in a longer term. Over the short term, agricultural and competitive aspects will determine its spread, which cause different effects in Europe in comparison with the developing countries. According to Nábrádi-Ficzeréné Nagymihály, 2008, one of the breaking points of Hungarian agriculture lies in the utilization of alternative energy sources. During the past period, many contradictory opinions came forward relating to economies, agricultural effects, food risks as well as the energetic and environmental efficiency of bio-fuels. One thing is certain: these fuels are already used today and their significance has been increasing. Although due to technological development, spread of new products and processes (cellulose-based bioethanol, bioethanol, biogas, hydrogen, biomethane) will obviously have to be expected in the future, at present biodiesel and bioethanol are determent among bio-fuels, thus I deal with these as well as their energetic and agricultural effects in my study.

• Semi-subsistence farming situation and policy – the example of Hungary

  143-148

  C. Forgács

  Views:

  208

  In Hungary small farms have played very important role since collectivization (1959-61). Up to radical changes small households have received strong support from coops in the field of providing inputs on one side and, marketing their products on the other. The latter was disrupted by radical reforms and small farms started struggling with survival under market conditions. Government took measures to provide a development path for those having a chance to become competitive after five years development. Three calls (2004, 205 and 2006) were released. In Hungary SSF from three regions were more interested in getting the grant as North Great Plain, South Transdanubia and South Great Plain. All three regions are agriculture dominated ones. The policy with the call has reached a very moderate number of SSFs and, on the other side small farms, either because not meeting the criteria of the call or not wanted to take the additional costs of being registered and monitored for such a small amount of support decided not to apply. The paper ends with policy lessons.

• Hungarian endeavours for the enhancement of economic relations in Southeast Asia focusing on a new partnership with Vietnam

  5-12

  László Kozár

  György Iván Neszmélyi

  Views:

  377

  Beyond a brief review of the economic integration process among the states of the ASEAN region, the authors of the present study aimed to examine and analyze the main economic, social and political characteristics of the Hungaro-ASEAN relations. The importance of the topic of this research is underlined by the fact that the Hungarian government considers big importance to the improvement of the foreign economic relations with Asian economies. This intention was expressed by a new foreign economic strategy „Eastern opening” announced by the government in 2012, even though the foreign trade statistical figures did not justify its success by now.The authors believe that increasing opening towards Asia serves Hungarian economic interests. Therefore, it is a right and desirable direction to proceed, they consider that in the background of the modest results there might be the insufficient knowledge of the market mechanisms, the actors of the local supply chains and the potential partners. They believe that in order to make the Hungarian foreign economic endeavours in this direction more successful a more thorough examination of the local characteristics – including the actual demand arising at the targeted markets - is necessary. This opinion is prevalent to not only the Asian „Giants”, like China, India and Japan, but also to smaller states, like the ASEAN members, which – together - in terms of population and economic performance – reach the dimensions of an economic great power as well.
  Furthermore, the integration of the ten Southeast Asian countries develops rapidly, which is coupled by their increasing weight in the world trade. The dynamic economic and social development in the ASEAN region – and in parallel with this the growing demands and purchasing power - may encourage the Hungarian ventures in theory. However, there are still very few Hungarian entrepreneurs, who are ready to enter the market in the region and able in long run to operate there successfully. It is a well-known fact that the since the regime has changed in Hungary, foreign trade became strongly concentrated towards the EU members.
  The ASEAN countries – because of the geographic distance and by other reasons - definitely cannot mean an alternative of the EU market, however in a certain extent they can relieve this one-sided concentration and may provide additional opportunities for the Hungarian export of goods, and rather to the export of Hungarian services and know-how. The ratio of the ASEAN region within the entire Hungarian foreign trade turnover is small nowadays, furthermore – according to the statistical figures – this region is rather an import resource for Hungary than being an export market. This fact – just itself – is should not be considered as problem. When the amount of the import exceeds the amount of exports, that means that it is more worthwhile to do business with suppliers from there countries than with others. By and large all this is prevalent to the field of the agricultural trade as well: Hungary imports a range of commodities which cannot be produced by domestic farmers or in Europe (spices, tropical fruits, etc.). It is obvious that the ASEAN region cannot be the major market for the Hungarian agricultural export, not even in long run. However, there are still a lot of opportunities to enlarge the turnover of goods and services and enhance the co-operation in this geographic region. In the last chapter, the authors outlined an example in case of Vietnam – co-operation of joint public warehousing of agricultural commodities – which may be a good example for the promising potential opportunities. In contrast with the majority of the ASEAN countries, the Hungaro-Vietnamese political and economic relations had started much earlier than the regime was changed in Hungary. However, the potential advantages arose from this fact – the network of connections and the sympathy of Vietnamese professionals graduated in Hungary, the reputation and popularity of Hungarian agricultural products and technologies, the achievements of R&D in the field of agriculture – could not be utilized from Hungarian side. Vietnam, however still preserved its socialist political establishment, but in terms of its economic development strategy and economic policy has gradually been standing on the basis of market orientation. Vietnam, with its population of ninety million shows a rapid and successful development and it means good opportunities even for Hungarian entrepreneurs. It would be a mistake to leave these potentials unused.

  JEL Classification: F14, Q17, R11, N75