The Golden Egg of Hungarian Poultry

But the real money is the liver - it has brought Hungarians about $225,312 million since 1989. No wonder it is called the "golden egg" of poultry. Apart from France, Switzerland, Germany, Holland and Japan buy Hungarian liver which beats its competitors from Israel, Poland and Bulgaria. The main market is France. In 1993 according to the French Center of Foreign Trade, France imported from Hungary, 1332 of a total 2587 tons (1990: 1539 out of 2661, 1991: 1583 out of 2583 and 1992: 1475 out of 2422).

Exports of goose meat are subsidised by 15%, but not goose liver and feathers. This year Hungary has exported more goose liver (1,800 tons) than the Western market can take and prices fell. According to Istvan Jasdi, the president of HungaviS - the main exporter for Hungary that works with Rougier and Bizac conserve plant - "Goose liver is such a luxury item that even if we lower the price, the market can't buy a bigger quantity. The Hungarian production needs to be lowered by 25-30%."

Nevertheless, goose liver is still in demand in France. According to Imre Szekeres, chief councillor at the Ministry of Agriculture:

"We decided to limit goose liver production to 1200 tons for export next year," said Bela Kallay, director of the Council of the Poultry Products - a self governmental organization of whole poultry producers. "We will introduce quotas and restrictions to control domestic production in order to get a better price." The quotas will be fixed on the basis of the best three years of each company's production between 1989 - 1993.

For Endre Boda, the trade director of Kiskunhalas Poultry Processing Plant: "It won't be so simple to reach an agreement. There will be a lot of haggling."

Hungarian over production doesn't seem to have
caused problems, on the French side. Marie Pierre PE from CIFOG (The National Committee of Webfooted Animals Trade for Goose Liver) a French organization that includes all the professionals involved in goose liver- says that there are about 10 to 15 industrialists that import liver from Hungary. French imports from Hungary date back 100 years. The French have specialized in transforming fresh goose liver into a variety of pates and special dishes. "The French are very pleased with the Hungarian goose liver because it's lighter than the French. This enables us to make a goose liver paté as the French want it," she added.
"Also, the price is much better; we pay about 200 francs a kilo for Hungarian liver whereas in France the price is 230 francs."

Refering to an incident with a Hungarian truck carrying goose liver, PE said, "There's no problem as far as Hungarian goose liver imports are concerned. There are regulations fixing the minimum weight for goose liver to 400 grams, and lorries have been stopped for verification, that's all."

But Kallay objects: "As far as I'm concerned the animal protectors are rich aunties and uncles whose hobby is to carry their pets around with them. We also love animals. If we had not force feed the geese we would not have goose liver, which we love eating. Animal rights people say 'we won't even touch Hungarian goose liver because we know how they are tortured'. This is not true, nowadays force-feeding technologies have made it possible to feed 500 geese per hour with the help of pneumatic machines. They stay quietly in a row without wanting to run away. They cackle normally, because no harm is being done to them. They eat, and meanwhile as they get fat their liver grows wonderfully."geese...
He complains bitterly about the bad publicity they have had in the West: "Some German tabloid papers, like Bildzeitung, sent their journalists, paid for by animal protectors, to roam around the Hungarian countryside.

Jasdi says: "It's interesting that especially the animal protectors who fight for geese's rights are the ones who don't have geese in their country. The French animal protectors fight to protect seals, the Swiss for the Hungarian geese...
The Hungarian ones will be expected to fight for the Swiss calves. We can't afford to indulge in the illusion that animal-rearing causes a lot of pain. Goose force-feeding is a tradition in Hungary. Of course you can present it as a caricature as you can present calf breeding and slaughtering. I don't believe that the fate of Hungarian geese is substantially worse than that of the Swiss calfves and the German pigs. Animal-breeders and animal protectors should try to find ways to support and not to antagonize each other."

The manager of this farm, Zsolt Varga, explains their success: "In our farm the geese's body tissue and quality is checked by computerized tomographs." Kaposvary Panon Agricultural University with the help of Siemens , sponsors the research carried out by their computer tomograph center. "This method gives very precise data that help us produce good quality geese. The white and grey Kolos is now the most popular breed of geese in Hungary; 30% of Hungarian geese come from this farm. We sell abroad too, which is pretty good considering we started the farm only five years ago."

According to Laszlo Peter, the director of Kolos-Agro, their program is unique in the whole world and represents a great genetic step forward. "Domestic production should put the emphasis on quality and not on the quantity of goose liver. A good quality liver - without any fat tissue - depends on the breed and on the feeding techniques which are not so up-to-date here," Peter said. "If we succeed in improving it we'll make use of the market possibilities, not ruin them."

There are 12 Hungarian big processing units that fulfill all the requirements to export. Some of them are in Kecskemet, Bekescsaba, Kiskunhalas (established in 1852), Mezokovacshaza, Oroshaza and Hajdu county. Some are in foreign investors hands such as Sarvari - an English investor, or the German-owned unit in Oroshaza one.

The one-day-geese are bought by the processing units from the breed farms and they are resold for rearing to private families. Each of the more than 500 families working with Kiskunhalas processing plant rears 1,000-15,000 geese a year.

When their liver is at least 400 grams, the farmers sell them back to the processing plant. Health control is made by a state employee who makes sure the regulations of the European Union are respected.

Then trucks full of goose liver packed between layers of broken ice go abroad to canning plants, restaurants and shops. The French state controls by polls that requirements of quality and hygiene are respected.

"Since 1992 Hungary is an associated member of the European Community," says Kallay, "it is time that we should have an unique market policy. The European countries apply the same rules to imports from the third world. Until we get full membership of the Union we have a lot to fight with. We produce the whole range of agricultural products. No wonder," he said, "France or Spain or Holland- which agriculture is as strong as ours - is not happy about Hungary's joining in.

"We expect a clash of interests. When we will be a member country, we will count very seriously on the market. Until now we've experienced a lot of animosity coming from the Union. They try to raise all kinds of obstacles to Hungarian export." From 1995 the duties will be raised at some items even twice- such as goose breast- according to GATT regulations.

Then they ask health certificates, viruses tests for each animal, that can't be produced. "I can't believe they themselves comply with those regulations. So Hungary complained."

Richard Protzel, the president for the German branch of EUWEP (European Union Wild Game and Poultry) confirms that Hungarian complaints are legitimate. "As a customer" - he imports Hungarian goose meat - "my interest is that Hungarian products can be imported with reduced duties. I succeeded in making it easier for Hungarians to export. There are too many, unnecessary documents and special licenses needed. A lot of import control made by veterinarians is going on."

According to Kallay, Hungarian processed goose liver is not successful on the world's market for everybody is looking for "Made in France" liver. "We need to market more agressively to sell and prove that ours is as good as the French one. They would like us to produce only raw liver- which they sell at double the price after processing it."

The plans to cut exports of raw liver made some consider processing it in Hungary. Jasdi states: "We sell goose liver fresh or frozen. For the foreign buyers the ultimate goose liver is a French product like champagne or cognac. But we have plans to develop our industry and make a name for ourselves abroad."

At present only about 100 tons stay in Hungary. Not everybody can afford today 4,000 Fts per kilo. "But it's a fact that tourists are starting to appreciate our prepared goose liver," he said. "Just as tourism made French cheese and red wine famous, we hope to follow this example as Hungary develops its tourism industry."

Anthony Johnson, a British gourmet, said the goose liver he had eaten in Hungary was delicious, very tender with a lot of flavour, a very distinctive, seductive flavour. "A goose liver in its own fat, with a sauté is beautiful. Or smoked goose with beet root with an Alsatian wine. I would eat goose every day, but nobody eats goose in England, it's undervalued.

Goose liver has already attracted French businessmen like Gabriel Meunier, the owner of Le Jardin de Paris - a thriving French restaurant in Budapest: "Goose liver is very important in French cuisine, and it's very important to me because in my restaurant it is a speciality of the house," he said. "The fresh goose liver is very good in Hungary, but the Hungarian way of cooking is a bit greasy. I cook it in the French way - eliminating the grease. A lot of clients come here for the goose liver I cook with a Tokaj wine sauce."

Florence La Bruyere, one of the French customers in the restaurant, confirms the success of Meunier's goose liver: "It had a lot of flavor, it wasn't greasy. In France it's usually cooked in cognac or in Sauternes, or some other wine, but I think Tokaj makes this one of the best livers I've ever eaten, it was both savory and sweet."

Central Europe Today Radio,
Nepszava, winter 1995,
The Budapest Week, August 22-28,1996