Small Agriculture Businesses Falling Behind

Service providers and construction companies are the most successful enterprises in the Hungarian SME sector whereas agricultural companies are struggling to cope in today's business environment, according to a study commissioned by UniCredit Bank and carried out by Inspira Research. Industrial enterprises have the highest business potential and their ratio within the SME segment remained unchanged at 24% of the total compared to the previous year. The number of smaller agricultural enterprises increased in the segment of businesses with lower potential, suggesting that agricultural undertakings need aid. ”It will be harder and harder for the decoys to get back to the top, so they will have to act in time if they want to avoid falling behind,” according to a press release by UniCredit. Family businesses are the most dynamic enterprises and most open to innovation. They realized they must follow market trends and innovate if they want to keep up with large companies. Businesses operating in central and eastern Hungary are more optimistic than their counterparts in the western and southern regions of the country, according to the results of the survey.  This may be the result of large-scale investments implemented in these areas. The nationwide representative research, conducted for a second year in a row, aimed to assess the business potential of domestic SMEs. It is based on interviews with the heads of six hundred companies with an annual turnover between HUF 51 million and HUF 1.5 billion about their business and innovation plans.