Poland, Hungary and Romania got the major food industrial investments in Central- and Eastern Europe. The strong agricultural background, the supportive public authorities and the easy access to the EU food market ensures the success of these countries.
Poland
source: wikimedia
Poland has one of the largest and strongest agriculture and food sector in Eastern Europe. The land market is highly liberalized and foreign investors are welcomed also in agriculture. This resulted an effective, market-driven development of local food business.
The leading agricultural region is Wielkopolska (Poznan) Region, west from Warsaw http://www.wielkopolska-region.pl/index.php. Although the natural conditions are under the national average, the levels of efficiency, technical equipment and farming practices make this region one of the leading locations. International food processing companies like Nestlé, Wrigley, Reemtsma invested here, appreciating the excellent agricultural background, the good transportation access to Western Europe and the large domestic market.
Hungary
source: North Great Plain Development Agency
Beside Poland, Hungary is the main target area of international food processing investments. Fifty percent of the investments in the sector came from EU investors, and 80% of the export goes to other EU countries. The good natural conditions, the effective farms, the trained labour force made it attractive for international companies like Friesland, Danone or Ferrero.
The North Great Plain (“Észak-alföld”) Region is traditionally one of the strongest agricultural areas. Industrial parks like Karcag Industrial Park www.karcagiiparipark.hu provide a large supplier basis, skilled (and unemployed) labour force and excellent transportation.
Romania
source: European Commission
Behind the two leading countries (Poland and Hungary), Romania became in recent years the most frequented location for CEE food investors. The agricultural population (3 million employees) is one of the biggest in Eastern Europe, and the 200 thousand employees in food processing industry are also meaningful. Meat, cereals and beverages are the most important product categories.
West-Romania http://www.regiuneavest.ro/en/home/ bordered by Hungary and Serbia, has a strong food business sector. Business parks like Freidorf Industrial Park in Timisoara http://www.regiuneavest.ro/en/investor-locations/public-industrial-zones/page/id/1/ are the main hosts of food processing industry, providing full range infrastructure and services.
