The National Agriculture and Food Show (OMÉK) was held for the first time this year at the OTP National Agricultural Conference, where the organisers addressed the current situation of the Hungarian fruit and vegetable sector.
The presentation started with an outline of Hungary's domestic fruit and vegetable production in terms of volume and acreage. Hungary currently has 75-80 thousand hectares of open field vegetable crops, 3.5-4 thousand hectares of greenhouses and 80-85 thousand hectares of fruit plantations. The annual production amounts to 25 to 30 thousand tonnes of mushrooms, 1,200 to 1,500 thousand tonnes of vegetables and 800 thousand tonnes of fruit.
Despite these great figures, the yields and acreage have been gradually dropping over the past ten years for many products, including currants, raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries or apricots. Only the cherry acreage has expanded, although the production volume is still lower. A similar decline has been registered for open field vegetables, like tomatoes.
Imports and exports
Despite the favourable conditions for the country's agriculture, the import of fruits and vegetables is still higher than their export. In the case of tropical fruits, this is understandable, but not so much for other crops. Looking at tomatoes, for instance, exports amount to 2.7 thousand tonnes, while imports exceed 13 thousand tonnes. In the case of apples, the situation is surprisingly similar; while exports amount to 38.1 thousand tonnes, imports have reached 46.9 thousand tonnes.
Fresh vegetable imports are usually higher than exports; however, for dried and frozen fruits and vegetables exports are actually greater. In this case, around 168 thousand tonnes are imported, while exports amount to a total of 470 thousand tonnes.
What is the solution?
Dr Ferenc Apáti considers it a priority to improve competitiveness. A product can only be competitive if it is possible to produce it in a cost-effective way in relation to consumer demand. The professor believes that despite all the hardships, the sector has good potential. Furthermore, there is a need for tighter controls on imports and promotional campaigns to boost the consumption of domestic products.
Dr Apati believes it would also be important to enforce an efficient and transparent administration. When it comes to the production of vegetables, it would also be desirable to support the modernisation of the country's irrigation systems.
For his part, Ledó Ferenc, president of the FruitVeB Producers' Marketing Organisation, highlighted the need to improve and simplify the labour market conditions for temporary and casual employment, as well as to enforce greater controls on food safety.
Source: agrarhirek.hu