It is unacceptable and intolerable for anyone to profit from Hungarian farmers, as this puts not only the countryside in a difficult situation, but also the whole of Hungary, the Minister of Agriculture stated in Balkány, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county on Saturday.
At a press conference before a local farmers' forum, István Nagy said that László Bige, the owner of Nitrogénművek Vegyipari Zrt., had harmed the farmers, as he took advantage of his company's market position to artificially raise the price of fertilizer, in addition to the current high world market prices.
It is our indispensable task to take action again and again against the dishonest contractor in the interest of Hungarian farmers
- said the head of the agricultural ministry, adding that the cartelization of László Bige could have caused about HUF 36 billion in damage to the Hungarian farming community. He announced that the Economic Competition Office had established László Bige's unfair market behavior and cartelization, with which the entrepreneur had harmed farmers. According to him, the price of fertilizer has quadrupled compared to previous years: an intensively productive arable farmer can apply fertilizer to his land for only HUF 50-85 thousand per hectare, but now it only costs HUF 205-255 thousand. István Nagy pointed out that the large entrepreneur not only committed a market irregularity, but also an unforgivable ethical offense, with which he harmed all Hungarian customers, and all this in order to get extra profit. This overpricing is reflected indirectly in the prices of the crops produced and the food produced, which took money out of the pockets of consumers as well as farmers, he added. According to István Nagy, László Bige "definitely wants to dress up a legal act in political garb" in order to cover up his crime. He explained that László Bige tried to force the farmers to buy, as he told them that they would only serve Hungarian customers for one day in December. With this, the large contractor terminated the solidarity between the actors of the Hungarian economy and openly threatened the Hungarian farmers, said the Minister of Agriculture. He added: László Bige is currently trying to back out of this situation.
László Bige is trying to cover himself by running away politically. In the picture, the prime ministerial candidates of the left are Péter Márki-Zay and László Bige/Source: Origo
István Jakab, the Fidesz vice-president of the Parliament and the president of the Association of Hungarian Farmers and Farmers' Cooperatives (Magosz), announced at the press conference: the government, the profession and the farming community "are together", they are pulling in the same direction, and despite the attempts, they cannot be divided. From the farmer's point of view and from the perspective of the market, it may be that he "was in the right place at the right time, but take two steps back, and don't use fertilizer to build your political career", the president of Magosz called on the big entrepreneur.
In some parts of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, farmers cultivate land with a low gold crown value, and in these areas, adequate nutrient supply is essential, said Simon Miklós, the region's Fidesz parliamentary representative. He added that it is unacceptable that the left wants to use farmers against the government in this way.
Imre Rácz, the county president of the National Chamber of Agrarian Economy, announced at the briefing that the planning of the irrigation canal between the Keleti main canal and the Tisza can begin with HUF 2.8 billion.
Source: Origo
Image: hirosagraria.hu
