AGRICULTURAL FIRMS SOLD BELOW PRICE

On Wednesday three agricultural firms found their new owners for pennies, the proprietor, State Privatization Company will not get altogether HUF 1 billion for them.

’They do this in spite of the fact that they explain the need for privatization by the high income’, said Csaba Szabó, former president of the board of directors of Tokaj Commercial House Company. Csaba Szabó said the prices had been set shockingly low. Komárom Agricultural Company has been bought by Kemenesalja Agricultural Industrial Ltd for HUF 201 million.

The property includes vineyards on more than a hundred hectares, with developed wine-growing, with 4000-5000 hectares of arable land, with a modern pig-breeding farm, slaughterhouse and meat processing factory. So the new owner gets an annual HUF 200 million just as a state support for the area it possesses.

A similar bargain has been the sale of Bácsalmás Agricultural Industrial Company and that of Alcsisziget Agricultural Company, the latter is one of the most modern biotechnological company, always profitable, with a special cattle stock. The expert said in such cases the foreign practice was to fit out a firm with capital to sell it profitably.

Translated by Péter Szentmihályi Szabó