The figure is higher than what experts predicted, and much better than the EU average. Industrial production, and within that, the automotive sector has performed relatively well, and growth has been further boosted by Hungarian families spending more on travelling, food, and entertainment/recreation.

Tourism

Public M1 channel’s news programme Híradó dedicated a large segment to the topic, including several interviews with various stakeholders. In Heves County Eger, a historical town famous for its wines, a restaurant owner said they had been fully booked for days, with not only locals coming, but also tourists. The owner, Albert Barabás said that his guests are not only eating more but they also choose more expensive dishes, so they spend more on one meal. 

Production

The managing director of a factory producing frozen goods with state-of-the-art technology in the north-eastern Hungarian town of Gávavencsellő told M1 that they are looking to expand the facility that already produces 20 tonnes of goods each day. Tamás Simon said that the company is planning to expand to the Far Eastern markets as well. He noted that they have been continually growing since 2015, with production increasing five-fold. Simon remarked that in the near future they will also start manufacturing gluten-free products as well, as market research indicates that there is great demand for such products in the export markets the company is focusing on. 

Despite the War

Experts say that following the coronavirus pandemic, Hungarian industry managed to get back on its feet quickly. Not only have manufacturing companies recovered, but their profits have even grown in spite of the war and the energy crisis, which is also reflected in the latest GDP data.

Minister of finance Mihály Varga also highlighted the second quarter GDP data in a video uploaded to his social media. He remarked that the only sector that has not expanded is agriculture, due to the droughts that have hit Europe. He underscored that the industry, trade, tourism, financial and info-communication sectors all have performed well in the second three months of this year.

He continued by saying that unemployment is also at a record low of 3 per cent, with more than 4.7 million people being employed in the country. ‘We are working to protect jobs and economic growth even in the shadow of the war,’ minister Varga stated. He reiterated that the 6.5 per cent figure is quite impressive in comparison with other EU countries. In fact, only Portugal and Slovenia overtook Hungary in the second quarter.

The ruling party, Fidesz commented in a statement that if the political left were in power, there would be no GDP growth or utility cost reduction, instead, the country would be facing record high unemployment. The party highlighted that the impressive economic growth has been achieved thanks to the work of the Hungarian people and their businesses as well as the measures implemented by the government. The statement concluded by adding that it is unfortunate that the left led by Ferenc Gyurcsány is once again working against the Hungarian people and keeps attacking all government measures designed to help them.