THE NECESSITY OF STRATEGIC THINKING IN HUNGARIAN AGRIBUSINESS

Based on analysis of a time series of Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) indicator and Relative Trade Advantage Index the performance of Hungarian agriculture and food industry has declined rapidly during the last fifteen years. This fact highlights the importance of searching new paradigms in development. In short term the increasing of production–quantity does not seem to be a rational way. The only alternative is the product–differentiation strategy. Under conditions of increasing competition in foreign markets the importance of domestic markets gains in importance. The domestic market is a dynamic one, too: the producers should be better focussed of new demands of specific consumer segments (e.g. elder generations, ethnic minorities etc…). On the long term the future of Hungarian agri-food chain is considerably determined by external factors: in case of increasing energy prices and global warming the importance of production capacities will be increasing rapidly.competitiveness, future research, marketing, system analysis, strategic planning, Agribusiness, Farm Management,

COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES ON THE MEAT PRODUCTS MARKET

The Hungarian meat-market can be characterised by intensive transitions both in market actors and product-structure. There is a decrease in the consumption of pork and at the same time in this category an increase in the share of processed meat products. There are also increasing differences in the quality and price-level of processed meat products. This transition highlights the importance of relations between the meat production industry and the meat retail trade. In the framework of a field-study we have analysed the opinions of more than two hundred meat trade specialist on supplier-retailer relationships. The responses have been analysed by one- and multivariate statistics. The results of the research confirm that the overwhelming majority of retailers consider a wide choice of products and flexibility to be a necessary precondition of success. The cheap product-line is no longer in itself enough for the achievement of sustainable market development. Retail enterprises attach great importance to marketing activities undertaken in partnership with the meat industry. The competition between meat suppliers is an especially intensive one in larger towns and in the capital. The maintenance of their partnership with the meat industry is regarded as an important success factor among managers of dynamic, growth-oriented firms. As confirmed by our structural mathematical model, the conflict level between meat-processor and retailer is diminishing with increasing levels of competition. The level of co-operation is increasing with the flexibility of meat producers and the sharing of market intelligence. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX A magyar húsipari termékek mind a piaci szereplÅ‘k, mind a forgalmazott termékek megoszlása szempontjából mélyreható változások tanúi lehetünk. A sertéshús –fogyasztás erÅ‘teljesen csökken, és ezen belül nÅ‘ a húskészítmények aránya. A felodogozott húsipari termékek között minÅ‘ségben és árban egyre nö-vekvÅ‘ különbségek tapasztalhatók. Az átalakuló helyzet fokozottan állítja elÅ‘-térbe a húsipari-vállalat –élelmiszerkereskedelem közötti kapcsolatrendszer fon-tosságát. Vizsgálataink során több mint kétszáz boltvezetÅ‘ véleményét kérdeztük meg a húskészítmények gyártóival fenntartott kapcsolataikról. A válaszokat egy –és többváltozós matematikai-statisztiaki módszerekkel elemeztük. Kutatásaink azt igazolják, hogy a kereskedelmi vállalkozások meghatározó többsége a siker alapvetÅ‘ feltételének tekinti a széles termékválasztékot és a rugalmas piaci rea-gálást. Önmagában az olcsóságra törekvés már nem elegendÅ‘ a fenntartható pia-ci növekedés eléréséhez. A vállalkozások nagy jelentÅ‘séget tulajdonítanak a hús-iparral közösen végzett piacbefolyásoló tevékenységnek. A megkérdezett keres-kedÅ‘k kedvezÅ‘tlenül értékelték azt a minÅ‘ségcsökkenést, mely az alacsonyabb hozzáadott-érték tartalmú húsipari termékeket jellemezte. A húsipari vállalatok közötti verseny különösen erÅ‘teljes a városokban és a fÅ‘városban. A dinamikus, növekedés-orientált kereskedelmi vállalkozások veze-tÅ‘i fokozott jelentÅ‘séget tulajdonítanak a húsiparral fenntartott, intenzív partneri kapcsolatoknak. Strukturális egyenletekkel igazoltuk, hogy a húsipar-kereskedÅ‘ közötti konf-liktusok szintjét nagymértékben csökkenti a húsipari vállalatok közötti erÅ‘teljes verseny. Az együttműködést hatékonyan javíthatja a húsipari szállítók rugal-massága és a piaci információk megosztása.quality price-value, questionnary, analysis- minÅ‘ség ár-érték, felmérés, együttműködés szerepe, Agribusiness, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,

Values, attitudes, and goals of future Hungarian food engineers

Over the last few decades Hungarian higher education has been radically transformed, and this transformation was implemented to counter the backwardness that previously plagued the education system. Agricultural education in particular was part of this transformation process, which included the disciplines of food science and related technology. This attempt at transformation yielded only a partial success; student numbers shot up, but there was no subsequent general improvement in the efficiency of higher education. This article is based on two surveys carried out in 1997 and 2007. The students’ values can be characterised as pluralistic and heterogenous. Based on longitudinal research, a shift can be seen toward materialistic and hedonistic values. The motivation for choosing the Faculty of Food Science is varied in nature, mirroring the food industry’s often critical current situation. High schools’ professional orientation is weak. Although the Faculty’s Budapest location is attractive, in the long run this is not sufficient to replace carefully planned promotional work. By structural equation modelling a significant relationship can be proven between the students’ values, their types of knowledge, and their expectations for future types of work.higher education policy, human resource management, food science education, social psychology, empirical research, Agribusiness, Labor and Human Capital,

The application of multivariate statistical methods for understanding food consumer behaviour

Understanding consumer behaviour is a necessary precondition for a targeted communication strategy. The behaviour is a complex phenomenon and research needs to undertake a rigorously apply sophisticated methods. This article entails the combined utilisation of categorical principal component analysis and cluster analysis to determine the major, relatively homogenous consumer groups and this is coupled with confirmatory factor analysis and structural model building to understand consumer behaviour, based on Fishbein and Ajzent’s theoretic model.Categorical principal component analysis, cluster analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, consumers’ segmentation, structural model building, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Trade liberalisation and sustainability : a case study of agro-food transport optimisation

Purpose: The aim of the article is to describe the characteristic features of the international trade in agricultural products, and to determine how the optimisation of international flow of goods could contribute to reducing the environmental burden of transport. Design/methodology/approach: The research is based on a combination of three key databases - FAOSTAT bilateral commodity trade matrices, CEPII distance tables and the EcoTransIT. Findings: It has been proven that the current international trade relations form dense, scale-free networks, shaped under the influence of both bi- and multilateral historical, cultural, political and economic relations is approved. By the application of linear optimisation for the minimisation of total greenhouse gas emissions it can be proven that the trade in wheat is far from optimal. Theoretically, concerning 2016 is possible to reduce environmental pollution by 38%. In the case of maize the re-organisation of the global trade network could reduce pollution by 18%, and in the case of soya beans by 8%. Comparing the difference between actual and optimal transportation networks based of historical data (2007-2016) it could be proven, that the average additional environmental burden, caused by suboptimal international transport were in case of wheat 36%, in case of maize 11% and in case of soya beans 10%. Practical implications: The optimization of the global trade and international transport of these three commodities offers a more than 500 kt/year decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. Comparative analysis of current and optimized trade networks highlights the increasing importance of the role of regional hubs in key exporting states. Originality/value: This fact underlines the importance the efforts for liberalisation of international trade system.peer-reviewe

Impact of EU sanctions on EU19 food imports from Russia

The EU has agreed to sanction Russia by prohibiting bilateral trade, including food imports. This study aims to determine the impact of EU sanctions on EU19 food imports from Russia. The two-stage least squares (TSLS) and propensity score matching (PSM) were used to analyze EU19 food import data from January 1999 to October 2022. According to the findings of this study, the sanctions have no impact on EU19 food imports from Russia. The sanctions were only recently imposed so they have not had a significant impact on bilateral trade between the EU and Russia. On the other hand, EU19 is trying to be realistic about the implementation of sanctions due to their reliance on Russian food. Our findings provide a new perspective for the development of a non-tariff-barrier theory in which sanctions or other trade barriers are ineffective in countries that rely heavily on other countries

Predicting food consumer and customer behavior

The aim of our research was to examine the comparability of food consumption patterns. Using the Random Forest method, we conducted pairwise comparisons on a representative sample of food customers from 6 countries. To carry out the prediction, factor and cluster analysis were performed and three clusters ("simplicity seekers", "demanding" and "practical housewives") were distinguished. In the analysis, the algorithm was applied to food shopper respondents in one country and the accuracy of the algorithm was tested in the other countries. Our results also further clarify the differences and similarities in food consumer behaviour across the 6 countries. Our results show that the Danish food consumption pattern is the most predictable. In particular, the responses of British, American and New Zealand respondents are the most suitable. It can also be seen from our results that geographical proximity does not necessarily give a country sample a good predictive ability. Finally, we have shown the homogenising effect of technology and social media use on food consumption and purchasing behaviour

Túl sok agrárszakembert képzünk?

Az elmúlt években mind a közbeszédben, mind az oktatáspolitikai stratégia főbb irányait kereső dokumentumokban egyre gyakrabban vetődik fel a túlképzés fogalma. Az agrár-felsőoktatási intézmények sokszor szerepelnek azok között, melyek – a vélelmezők szerint – indokolatlanul sok szakembert bocsátanak ki. A tanulmány a nyugati világ legfejlettebb gazdaságú országait tömörítő Gazdasági Együttműködési és Fejlesztési Szervezet (OECD) adatai alapján vizsgálja a felsőfokú agrárszakember- képzés arányait a nemzetközi összehasonlítás tükrében. A statisztikai adatok elemzésével egyáltalán nem igazolható, hogy hazánkban agrártúlképzés lenne. Az összességében csökkenő, bizonyos intézmények esetében zuhanó beiskolázási keretszámok néhány éven belül súlyos agrárszakember-hiány esélyét vetítik előre. --------------------------------------- In the last decades there is an intense discussion in public and professional sphere on over-production of agricultural specialists. It is generally accepted, that the agricultural faculties are pouring out a high number of young agricultural specialists on the labour market. The study analyses this phenomenon in the light of international comparison, using the official database of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, calculating the different indices of number of agricultural specialists. It can not be supported the hypothesis, that there is an over-production of agricultural specialists, on the contrary, after some years an increasing shortage of agricultural specialists can be expected

THE NECESSITY OF STRATEGIC THINKING IN HUNGARIAN AGRIBUSINESS

Based on analysis of a time series of Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) indicator and Relative Trade Advantage Index the performance of Hungarian agriculture and food industry has declined rapidly during the last fifteen years. This fact highlights the importance of searching new paradigms in development. In short term the increasing of production–quantity does not seem to be a rational way. The only alternative is the product–differentiation strategy. Under conditions of increasing competition in foreign markets the importance of domestic markets gains in importance. The domestic market is a dynamic one, too: the producers should be better focussed of new demands of specific consumer segments (e.g. elder generations, ethnic minorities etc…). On the long term the future of Hungarian agri-food chain is considerably determined by external factors: in case of increasing energy prices and global warming the importance of production capacities will be increasing rapidly