Some 600 to 700 thousand people frequent the Milhost Slovak-Hungarian border crossing off Kosice. Most of them visit cheap popular market places in Kosice or Miskolc hoping to save a few crowns or forints for goods they believe are cheaper and better than those offered on their domestic market.

This crossing point usually experiences a considerable wave of Slovak tourists on Wednesdays and Saturdays, their traditional shopping days in the Miskolc Metro store. According to the latest information this centre registers nearly five thousand Slovak customers from the Kosice, Roznava and Presov regions. Their Christmas shopping was focused mostly on microwave ovens, winter shoes, a variety of cooking machines, steam irons, fresh pork, and turkey breasts.

According to Mgr. Jaroslav Mesarcik, senior customs inspector and Milhost customs-house manager, the Slovaks buy in Hungarian shops primarily detergents and other laundry and cosmetic products.

"On the market places they buy mainly gents' suits, jumpers and other clothes and textile products. Also kitchen appliances and electromechanical products rank as favourites. I should point out, though, that these goods are sold mostly by shops with no reputation and trade mark, meaning that the goods purchased at the market places have no guarantee," says Jaroslav Mesarcik.

The third most favoured commodity are food and meat products. Fresh pork has the top priority in this respect, since its price is lower by approximately one third compared to Slovak prices. A similar price difference applies also to the turkey breasts, and last fall this commodity became a number one for east Slovakian tourists.

Massif purchases and imports of Hungarian fresh pork, turkey breasts and other meat products forced the Slovak customs officers in Milhost put up bills prohibiting imports of thermally unprocessed meat to the Slovak republic. Hungarian customs officers recorded several cases when they had to ask the Slovak tourists either to dispose their meat in a container or leave it in front of the frontier crossing.

"The Hungarian tourists buy in Slovakia mostly an assortment of fruit juices, tea, cookies, sweets and cheese. This merchandise is mostly a matter of interest to Hungarian entrepreneurs selling it in Hungary. Trips of Hungarians from transfrontier settlements to buy petrol in Slovakia are also quite a peculiarity", says senior the inspector Mesarcik.

Slovak customs officers have not recorded any remarkable smuggling cases since the three 1998 attempts to illegally export textile goods to Hungary through the Milhost crossing. In view of this year's experience and as a result of Hungarian / Slovak price level approximation and economic hardship they anticipate an overall decline of the Milhost border crossing passage rate. Compared to the 1997 data the 1998 statistics demonstrate a ten percent drop of human and material transfer.

Slovak Trade FORUM