A Hungarian delegation toured Georgia June 7, meeting with top agricultural leaders in the country’s latest effort to deepen food trade and share best practices with the state.
The group included a few Hungarian farmers and was led by Balázs Györffy, the chair of the Budapest-based Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture, along with the agricultural attache from the Hungarian embassy in Washington.
They visited Dickey Farms, a more-than-century-old peach growing and packing operation run by state Rep. Robert Dickey, who also welcomed the group for a Southern lunch at his home in Musella, Ga., about 30 miles west of Macon.
Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, who accompanied the group, used the occasion to present a framed declaration from his department outlining plans to further enhance collaboration with the Central European country. Georgia and Hungary will explore ways to deepen trade, agrotourism, food safety, research, sustainable practices and more, according to the declaration.
The visit followed up on Mr. Black’s November 2016 meeting with then-deputy Foreign Minister László Szabó, who was hosted in Atlanta at the time by Honorary Consul General John Parkerson, an Atlanta attorney who represents the Hungarian government in the state. Mr. Szabo later returned in March with a new title: ambassador to the United States.
Later in the day, the group visited the University of Georgia’s Center for Food Safety and the Center for Food Product Innovation and Commercialization in Griffin, Ga., before holding discussions over dinner with Mary Waters, deputy commissioner for international trade at the Georgia Department of Economic Development, that evening.
“They left Georgia with a clear path towards greater future collaboration in agribusiness of between Georgia and Hungary,” said Mr. Parkerson, who made Global Atlanta aware of the visit.
A EU member with about 10 million people, Hungary has been aggressive in courting investment ties with Georgia. Among Georgia companies with operations there are ATM-maker NCR Corp. tablet manufacturer Aegex Technologies and Duluth-based agricultural equipment giant AGCO Corp., as well as many more.
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