Next year Ft 150 million – three times as much money as this year – will be provided from the central budget for pálinka marketing both in Hungary and abroad, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development József Gráf announced. According to privatbankar.hu, Gráf and Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány recently met members of the Hungarian Pálinka Knight Order (Magyar Pálinka Lovagrend) which is comprised of pálinka making businesses, and assured them of their support for establishing a national pálinka council to represent the interests of pálinka makers. Representatives of the knight order handed over a draft to Gyurcsány in which they propose creating a pálinka law. The prime minister said the law could be ready by the spring.
Gyurcsány in turn urged pálinka makers to start creating a national pálinka program. To stress the economic importance of the industry, he pointed out that pálinka makers pay over Ft 9 billion (roughly €35.3 million) in excise duty and Ft 1.5 billion in sales tax to the central budget annually, adding that he believes that the consumption of quality pálinka is up 30% compared to three years ago.
