Hungary may see a 10- to 20-per-cent hike in food prices, should the country choose to stop producing GMOs, experts say.
The Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture recently said that the government has a mandate to produce only GMO-free milk, meat and eggs. The Ministry’s state secretary, István Nagy, told journalists that the first step will be to replace imported soybeans with a non-GMO crop.
Back in January, Hungary applauded a decision made in Brussels that granted EU countries greater individual freedom over the use of genetically modified crops.
A farming expert, speaking on the condition of remaining anonymous, told economy news portal vg.hu that such a move could lead to a 10- to 20-per-cent hike in Hungarian food prices. It would be an illusion to think that Hungary would be able to produce sufficient quantities of soy to replace the exported crop, the expert said.
Earlier this year, Minister of Agriculture Sándor Fazekas said that Hungary will initiate a joint alliance of EU member states rejecting the use of GMOs in farming, with the aim of making the entire European Union free of GMO crops.
Unlike many EU countries, Hungary is a nation where genetically modified seeds are banned. Back in 2011, Hungary destroyed almost 1,000 acres of corn found to have been grown with such seeds.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by László Juhász.
