Hungary is one of the leading producers of bell peppers and one of EIT Food’s RIS countries

The Agri-food Sector as a Spearhead of the Hungarian Economy

The agriculture industry plays a strategic role in the Hungarian economy. Advantageous natural features constitute a basis for both crop production and animal rearing. The majority of export products constitute grains, meats and meat products, vegetables and fruits, animal feed, animal fats, vegetable oils and waxes. Hungary is also characterised by a well-developed higher education and research system.

Room for Improvement

One of the biggest challenges for the Hungarian R&D sector is the lack of investments. In 2015, Hungary spent less than 1.5% of its GDP on scientific research. Other weak points in the Hungarian R&D sector are: low rate of R&D expenditures in the public sector and relatively low index of venture capital expenditures; few patent applications, also in the agrifood sector. It is essential to facilitate constant innovation to foster internationalization and competitiveness.

The traditional Hungarian cuisine is the result of centuries of Turkish, Germanic and Slavic influences.

EIT Food Hubs in Hungary: Campden BRI Hungary and PANNON Pro Innovations

Campden BRI Hungary is an independent R&D centre that has skills and experience on knowledge transfer, training, networking, fostering innovation on FSCM, transparency and food safety risk assessment, application of transdisciplinary knowledge and solutions from ICT, advanced manufacturing sectors for solving technological problems in the modernization of the food industry by using their enabling functions. This is supported by practical experience in food and process development, legal, consumer and sensory research.

PANNON is a private consultancy providing a wide range of innovation management and entrepreneurship support activities. Their key focus areas are sustainability, food innovation, circular economy, sustainable cities, energy-transition and bioeconomy. PANNON works with startups from the very early stage to mature, investment-ready ones. With their excellent team and a huge network in the sustainability and business sector, they are pioneers in supporting cleantech startups and entrepreneurs in Hungary. They have been delivering EIT Climate-KIC startup programmes since 2014, have been organizing local workshops and recruiting Hungarian startups for EIT Food and EIT Raw Materials programmes since 2021.