SALE OF FOODSTUFFS AND WINES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A006700290004-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 19, 2008
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: May 9, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2008/08/19: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA006700290004-6
INFORMATION REPORT I N FORMATION REPORT
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
COUNTRY Hungary/Soviet Bloc
SUBJECT Sale of Foodstuffs and Wines
DATE OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIRED
DATE ACQUIRED
REPORT
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES it
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
SOURCE EVALUATIONS ARE DEFINITIVE. APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
In early January 1955 a meeting of the department heads of the
Monimpex foreign-trade enterprise for wines and colonial goods
took place in Budapest. The director of Monimpex stated that,
in accordance with the decisions of the Economic Conference of
the Soviet Bloc, held in Moscow in June and July of 1954, the
export of foodstuffs and alcoholic beverages from the Satellites
to tie USSR had to cease. He referred to a speech by Nikita
S. Khrushchey,who said that the USSR was striving to achieve
national self-sufficiency in foodstuffs in order to prevent the
recurrerce of sbat had happened during the German invasion. It
was stated in the Budapest meeting that from 60-70 percent of
Hungary's exports of foodstuffs and beverages had been to the
USSR, 20-30 percent to the Satellites, and only approximately
10 percent to the West. These percentages would have to be
changed to 40 percent to the West and the remainder to the
Satellites.
2. New commercial agreements will be drawn up between the USSR
and the Satellites in 155. Negotiations to this effect were
to start in late January 1955 in Budapest between a Soviet
commercial delegation and Hungary, in accordance with the policy
decisions taken at the Moscow Economic Conference. These de-
cisions were to be implemented in 1955 and were to be kept secret.,
even from high officials of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and
executives of foreign-trade corporations.
3. In December 1954, a department head of Monimpex was sent to Moscow
to negotiate the export of foodstuffs. He concluded the nego-
tiations for selling a considerable quantity of goods to Pro-
dintrog and other Soviet foreign-trade corporations and was ready
to sign the contracts, when the Soviet officials unexpectedly
dropped negotiations without giving any explanations. Vinkler (fnu),
head of the Soviet desk in the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Trade,
ordered the Monimpex official to remain in Moscow and to work
with the Hungarian commercial attache in preparing all details
(Note: Washington distribution indicated by "V; Field distribution by ".}2 ". i
I N FORMATION REPORT I N FORMAT 10 N R E PORT
9 May 1955
Approved For Release 2008/08/19: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA006700290004-6
 Approved For Release 2008/08/19: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA006700290004-6
of projected transactio% in anticipation of the Hungarian-Soviet
talks to begin in Budapest in January 1955.
!t. High Goverment circles hope that the Soviet delegation can be
persuaded to buy at least part of the foodstuffs which cannot
be sold to the West or to the Satellites.
25X1
LZDAI
Approved For Release 2008/08/19: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA006700290004-6