Auditor Edwin van Bussel is also enthusiastic about the country which he visited together with Vellinga. "New, new, new." That was his primary impression from his last visit to Hungary. "Many large new storage sheds have been built with funding from the EU. You see them everywhere and they are all the very best for the control of hygiene. As a former Eastern Block country, Hungary has made a positive impression in this area", according to Van Bussel who is associated with the Coordinating Office for Animal Feed Certification and Monitoring (BCD) of the Product Board Animal Feed.

Germany and the Netherlands, in particular, import a lot of grain from Hungary, chiefly maize and wheat. The raw materials are purchased from GMP⁺-certified companies who, as Van Bussel says, have got things sorted out: "The checking by the auditors is OK".

According to Vellinga, Hungary has many advantages compared to other countries in Eastern Europe. He says: "In the past, many Hungarian growers voluntarily merged their companies for cost reasons. This led to very large companies. Their logistics are good. Large volumes are better for purchasing and for transport."

Cefetra is an importer and exporter of feed raw materials and has a subsidiary in Hungary. It is Vellinga's task to direct the quality policy of the local employees of Cefetra. He says: "Better quality agreements can be made with large farms and control is easier. A large farmer delivers about 10,000 tons of maize or wheat.

Not everything is new and beautiful in Hungary of course. Vellinga: "For logistical reasons such as the lack of sea ports, much of the grain has been offered for intervention in recent years. The country has a lack of storage because of this and old storage facilities were therefore being used. This requires extra attention during the checking of hygiene and food safety."

Raw material transport from Hungary mostly goes per (GMP⁺-certified) inland waterway vessels on the Danube. The vessels often carry Soya back from the Netherlands. Vellinga: "Logistically, this is an ideal situation. This route is, nevertheless, not without its problems. The Danube is a rain-fed river which often has water levels which are too high or too low. This involves extra expense in both these cases. In the event of low water you have to compensate because the vessels can take less freight. And in the event of high water you have to pay extra waiting time because they can not pass under all the bridges. Ice formation also occurs so that we shall make more use of trains in the future."