VZCZCXRO3558
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHUP #0210/01 0780854
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 190854Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3994
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0536
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BUDAPEST 000210 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
EEB/TPP/ABT/BTT FOR JACK BOBO 
EUR/CE FOR JAMIE LAMORE 
GENEVA FOR USTR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO BTIO ECON ETRD SENV EAGR ENRG KGHG HU
SUBJECT: BIOTECH OUTREACH TO HUNGARY: VISIT OF JACK BOBO, 
MARCH 12-13, 2009 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  DOS Senior Biotech Advisor Jack Bobo 
conducted biotech outreach to Hungary during his March 9-13 
visit.  Bobo attended the CODEX Alimentarius Meeting in 
Balatonalmadi March 9-11.  He then proceeded to Budapest for 
briefings with FCS and American biotech firms Monsanto and 
Pioneer, followed by outreach meetings with the Ministry of 
Agriculture and the Parliament,s Agricultural Committee. 
Although the Hungarians show no signs of changing their minds 
anytime soon about the ban on biotech corn variety MON810 in 
Hungary, Bobo did have the opportunity to respond to the 
Hungarian arguments with U.S. views.  The Ministry of 
Agriculture in particular appeared interested in future 
biotech crops for biofuels and drought resistance.  A local 
business daily with a history of balanced reporting on 
agricultural biotechnology interviewed Bobo, and we expect 
the story will come out later this week.  Although Post 
expects the Hungarian five-party consensus on the biotech 
corn ban will likely hold for the near term, we welcome 
continued measured outreach along the lines of the Bobo visit 
which we hope over the long term will wear away Hungarian 
resistance to biotechnology.  End Summary. 
 
USG AND U.S. PRIVATE SECTOR STRATEGY IN HUNGARY 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On March 12, Senior Commercial Officer Patricia 
Gonzalez and the Hungarian representatives of American 
biotech firms Monsanto (Mihaly Czepo) and Pioneer (Jozsef 
Mate) briefed Bobo on the coordinated FCS-private sector 
strategy on agricultural biotech in Hungary.  FCS, Monsanto 
and Pioneer explained that Hungary had banned biotech corn 
variety MON810 in 2005.  Although the original basis for the 
ban was economic, Hungary subsequently has justified the ban 
based on assertions that the crops pose a risk to human 
health and biodiversity.  The European Food Safety Authority 
(EFSA) has twice found that there is no scientific basis for 
the ban.  However, the Hungarians have been very good at 
ignoring science that doesn,t support their view, and will 
only accept research conducted by the Hungarian Academy of 
Science,s Plant Production Institute.  Monsanto and Pioneer 
indicated that this institute is politically biased, and its 
findings invariably reflect the Hungarian government,s 
negative view of biotechnology.  Monsanto and Pioneer also 
lamented their inability to conduct field trials in Hungary. 
Gonzalez described recent FAS efforts to persuade Hungarian 
Parliamentarians to change their view on biotech through a 
visit to the U.S. to see our biotech facilities and farms 
using biotech crops.  FAS Berlin also organized a 
farmer-to-farmer outreach trip to Hungary March 4-8, to 
conduct low-key, low-level outreach to potential GMO 
customers (FAS Berlin will report on this).  So far, these 
outreach efforts have not persuaded Hungary to change its 
policy.  Monsanto, Pioneer and FCS concurred that the ban 
remains in place for political reasons, and, although they do 
not expect the ban to be lifted in the short term, they are 
continuing a sustained, modulated outreach plan in hopes of 
changing the policy over the long term.  The two companies 
hope to ally with the Hungarian farmers, association which 
they hope will appreciate that, although MON810 corn targets 
the European corn-borer, which is not a significant plant 
pest in Hungary, future biotech varieties combating 
corn-rootworm, which has caused significant damage in recent 
years, could be extremely useful in Hungary. 
 
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE: SOFTENING STANCE? 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) On March 12, Bobo met State Secretary Zoltan Gogos 
and EU GMO Counselor Time Vertes of the Ministry of 
Agriculture.  Although Gogos held to the usual Hungarian 
arguments in support of the biotech ban, he showed some 
openness to considering future crops that might benefit 
Hungary.  Gogos said that a consensus of all five parties in 
the Hungarian parliament supports Hungary,s ban on 
production of biotech crops in Hungary.  According to Gogos, 
this is one of the few issues on which there is a five-party 
consensus, and the Government has no intention of giving this 
up.  Gogos cited Hungary,s economic interests and the lack 
of a significant corn-borer threat in the country as the 
reasons for the ban.  He indicated that the Ministry is aware 
of biotech production trends, and that "GMOs are the future." 
 He showed particular interest in potential biotech 
developments to improve drought resistance, heat tolerance, 
 
BUDAPEST 00000210  002 OF 003 
 
 
and biofuel potential.  Vertes told Bobo that the Ministry 
keeps up with the latest biotech research, and Hungarian 
scientists are active in this field in order to be well 
prepared "when the time comes." 
 
PARLIAMENT FIRM IN THE FIVE-PARTY CONSENSUS 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) On March 13, Bobo met with representatives of the 
Parliament,s Agricultural Committee, representing three of 
the five parties in the Parliament, including Istvan Jakab 
(Fidesz), Jozsef Angyan (Fidesz), Imre Herbaly (Socialist), 
and Andor Nagy (KDNDP, Christian Democrat).  Angyan said 
Hungary saw research as a separate issue from trade and 
distribution, favoring government spending on the former but 
not the latter.  He indicated that Hungary wants to consider 
each new biotech variety on a case-by-case basis.  This would 
include consideration of health and environmental impacts, 
which Hungary feels have not yet been adequately examined. 
MON810, for example, is designed for resistance to the 
European corn-borer, which is not a significant problem in 
Hungary, and which Hungarians can address with other 
technology.  Angyan asserted that the ban created an economic 
advantage for Hungary, since it allowed Hungary to market all 
of its grain as "GMO free" without a costly certificate 
process, to meet European consumers, demand for non-biotech 
products.  Nagy, who had participated in a USG-sponsored 
biotech outreach trip to the U.S. for parliamentarians in the 
summer of 2008, indicated that, although the trip was very 
interesting and useful, it did not weaken the five-party 
consensus on the ban.  Herbaly said that, as a former manger 
of a large farm, he believed biotech crops would inevitably 
come to Hungary, but that if the European public wanted 
"GMO-free" food, then Europe would benefit from a "GMO-free" 
region in the Carpathian basin, including Hungary and 
neighboring areas.  Several of the parliamentarians said that 
Hungary would not debate the findings of research and 
science, and they envisioned the Ministry of Agriculture,s 
National Food Safety Office (MEBIH) conducting long-term 
studies to reach these conclusions. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Although the group remained firm that Hungary would 
not budge on the five-party consensus against biotech anytime 
soon, the meeting did give Bobo the opportunity to provide 
them with the USG responses to the Hungarian arguments.  Bobo 
supported the view that biotech decisions be based on sound 
science, and agreed the matter would eventually be resolved 
in favor of biotech, although it might take many years.  He 
noted that while economic factors are part of the case for 
biotechnology, food security, energy, and environmental 
issues are also part of the equation.  Biotech is one avenue 
to address the need to find ways to produce more food on the 
current amount of arable land for the expected global 
population of 9 billion in 2050.  Biotech crops can also help 
to address environmental issues like water shortages and 
droughts caused by climate changes.  Bobo cautioned that, by 
maintaining the ban, Hungary risks losing out on the benefits 
from an entire generation of biotech crops.  The ban on 
growing biotech crops of any kind in Hungary prevents 
researchers from conducting field trials and, therefore, 
discourages multinational research in Hungary that might 
otherwise lead to development of later- generation biotech 
crops which would be valuable to Hungarian farmers.  Although 
the corn-borer, which MON810 was designed to combat, is not a 
significant problem in Hungary, corn-rootworm is, and crops 
that protect against this pest are already available in the 
U.S.  Bobo also commented on the secondary impact 
disagreements between the U.S. and European countries have on 
developing countries that might benefit from biotechnology: 
seeing the U.S. and Europe unable to agree, they are unable 
to make a decision on biotechnology, and risk missing out on 
what could be important food sources for their people.  On 
food safety, Bobo remarked that new crops developed through 
radiation or chemical mutagenesis are more different from 
their forebears than biotech crops, and scientists may not 
even know how the mutant crops differ genetically from the 
original, yet the mutant crops can be sold to European 
consumers without any food safety evaluation.  He also noted 
that even MON810 can be sold legally in Hungary for food and 
feed uses - it is only the Hungarian farmers who cannot grow 
it. 
 
PRESS COVERAGE 
 
BUDAPEST 00000210  003 OF 003 
 
 
-------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Melinda Kiss, staff writer for important Hungarian 
business daily Napi Gazdasag, interviewed Bobo on March 13. 
Napi Gazdasag has published balanced articles on 
biotechnology, especially the MON810 corn that the Hungarian 
public is concerned about.  The article should come out on 
March 20. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Although we don,t expect any dramatic changes in 
the Hungarian position in the short term, we are hopeful that 
a steady stream of carefully orchestrated outreach of this 
type will eventually wear down Hungary,s resistance to 
lifting the biotech ban.  End comment. 
 
¶8.  (U) Jack Bobo cleared this cable. 
Foley