Hungary: Hot summer starts with early cherry harvest

Cherry harvest started early, looks great so far

Hellovidék.hu reported recently that the cherry season has started earlier this year. The harvest of early varieties began as early as mid-May, writes the portal, but the bulk of Hungarian cherries will hit the market in early June.

According to the latest market overview by the National Chamber of Agriculture (NAK) and the Hungarian Fruit and Vegetable Alliance (FruitVeB), a good harvest is expected this year. However, weather conditions, especially rainfall during the ripening period, can significantly influence the actual harvest yields, HelloVidék writes.

In in good years, cherry harvest typically ranges between 10 thousand to 15 thousand tons in Hungary. Although it is difficult to predict this year’s yield at such an early stage of the season,  compared to the past two to three years, the current yield loss is much smaller, HelloVidék reports. Currently, the estimation for this year’s harvest is around 12 thousand tons.

Advertisement scandal: Dairy sector clashes with margarine manufacturer

News portals reported this week about a clash between butter and margarine producers in Hungary. The Dairy Product Council issued a press release in the end of May about what they saw as an “unfair attack on domestic animal husbandry”. Apparently, one of “the most known margarine producers” used slogens “skip the cow” and “hands off the cows” in their latest advertisement campaign.

The news portal 24.hu reported that although the press release did not specify the producer, an internet search returns the ad videos of margarine producer Rama based on the slogans.

The industrial union held a press conference on June 1, on the occasion of World Milk Day.

At the event  the National Chamber of Agriculture (NAK) and the Dairy Product Council called on the company in question to suspend its campaign. Minister for Agriculture István Nagy has participated at the event as well. Mr. Nagy has said that should this not happen, “the Ministry will also intervene.”

Világgazdaság.hu highlights that the dairy industry is an important segment of the food industry. It accounts for 8% of the total employment in the food industrial complex, and also 8% of the total revenue, which makes it the fourth-largest sector within the industry. The Minister highlighted at the event that new calls for applications for subsidies will open in June, with €510.4 million for the processing industry, and another €510.4 million for livestock farm modernization.

Maize cultivation on the decline: “End of an era”

Agrárszektor.hu reports that, although maize seemed to be the unbeatable staple crop of Hungarian arable farming, the 2022 European drought changed everything. While in 2022, 983 thousand hectares of farmland were used for maize production, in 2023, the planned sowing area was 871 thousand ha, which is a 12% decline, however, the harvested area had effectively declined to 768 thousand thousand ha in 2023. In 2024, the planned sowing area was 795.6 thousand ha, showing that maize farming is declining further. The portal calls this potentially “the end of an era”.

In 2023, the area used for winter wheat increased by 90 thousand hectares to a total of over 1 million hectares. Winter wheat also took over maize as the primary crop. Winter barley also increased, by 28%, to 400 thousand hectares.

Dairy industry had a mixed year in 2023

The portal Agrárszektor.hu also reported on the state of the dairy industry based on the final 2023 figures. Alföldi Tej Zrt.’s taxable income declined from €3.64 million to minus €8.32 million. Sole-Mizo Zrt.’s taxable profit decreased from €7.02 million to €0.35 million. Naszálytej Zrt. also saw a decline in taxable income, from €2.86 million to €1.86 million y-o-y.

Friesland Campina Hungary’s operating profit increased from €4.68 million to €8.32 million. The balance of financial operations decreased from €5.98 million to €5.72 million. The taxable income of Friesland Campina increased from €10.4 million to €13.26 million between 2022 and 2023. Óvertej Zrt. also closed the year with net profit, its taxable income increased from €0.36 million to €1.02 million.

The co-president of the Dairy Product Council, Attila Koller, told the portal that last year, the costs of the industry doubled in a year in 2023. Meanwhile, consumption has drastically decreased. Mr. Koller said that prices are still 40 to 50% higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. Inflation had also led to consumption decrease, the portal highlighted.

The food industry slowed down Hungary’s industrial production decline

Trademagazin.hu, based on the latest data by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) reported on the changes in Hungary’s macroeconomic landscape in 2024.

In Q1 2024, the volume of the country’sgr oss domestic product exceeded that of the same period of the previous year by 1.1% according to raw data, and by 1.7% according to the adjusted figures. Quarter to quarter, the performance of the economy improved by 0.8%. The performance of the industrial sector fell by 4.2%, and within that, the manufacturing industry declined by 4.8% compared to the same period of the previous year. Among the processing and manufacturing sectors, the production of electrical equipment and the automotive industry contributed the most to the decline, while the food industry most significantly slowed the decline in the industrial sector.

The gross value added of services increased by 2.7% overall. The gross domestic product increased by 1.1% in Q1, 2024. What tipped the scale to the positive were services (1.7 percentage points), the positive balance of product taxes and subsidies (0.2 percentage points) and the construction industry (0.1 percentage points). Industry has decreased the gross national product by 0.9 percentage points and agriculture had no substantive effect on it.

Warm weather affecting nature: Annual “Tisza blooming” starts two weeks early

The news agency MTI reported on June 1 that the annual “Tisza blooming” phenomenon has already started on the Tisza River south of Szeged, in South Hungary.

Tisza Mayfly (Palingenia longicauda) is a giant mayfly species, the largest in Europe, with a length of 12 cm from head to tail. It is the last of its kind of European mayflies, as other species and populations have gone extinct in the wetlands and rivers of Europe due to the rise of industry in the past centuries and increased river pollution.

The larvae of the species hatch and mature mid-June, and adults only have a few hours to mate before they perish. This leads to a short-lived burst of courting, a phenomenon Aristotle described as ephemeron or “one-day-long”. This fleeting courting swarm is called “the blooming of the River Tisza” or “Tisza blooming” in both Hungarian and Serbian, and it is a very delicate and vulnerable aspect of nature, annual phenomenon and a tourist attraction. The 2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill that devastated the habitats of the River Tisza almost struck a fatal blow to this last surviving ancient mayfly. Its nature protection status is “protected” in Hungary.