Drought declared in Hungary

Prolonged period of water scarcity declared, hot and dry summer expected

The news portal OTP Agrár has reported this week that, based on the recommendation of the National Chamber of Agriculture (NAK) together with farmers’ association MAGOSZ, the Ministry of Interior has declared a “prolonged period of water scarcity.”

In a declared prolonged period of water scarcity, it is possible for farmers to use water for irrigation purposes without a water permit for up to 30 days, requiring only a farmer's notification. Additionally, the water resource contribution fee is also waived.

Extraordinary irrigation water use is defined as the extraction of up to 120 mm/hectare (1200 m³/hectare) of water directly from surface water sources using temporary pump stations for irrigation purposes on an area not exceeding 100 hectares, for a maximum continuous duration of one month.

The portal adds that although the rains in the turning of April and May helped, and the Pentecost weekend in May also saw heavy rainfall, based on data of the National Meteorological Service and farmers’ reports, most of the soils in the country are now affected by drought. The authorities also considered that in the past year, Europe saw new historical heat records and that this year, also, a long, hot and dry summer can be expected.

Fair weather led to perfect conditions for melon farming

Trademagazin.hu reports that the weather this year has been perfect for melon farming. The article also mentions that strawberry picking also started two weeks earlier this year, but cherries are ripening earlier too. Farmers are expected to harvest the large-scale greenhouse-grown watermelons two weeks earlier than usual, so ripe Hungarian watermelons will be available in stores from June 10.

The increase of costs, primarily input materials and labor, increased in the melon farming sector, similarly to the rest of the agriculture industry. Farming technologies also changed compared to previous decades, in the 2020s the farming area is half the size, however, the amount of melon harvested is around the same. Last year, the size of the production area started increasing again however, from 2,600 hectares in 2022 to 2,900 hectares in 2023. Experts are expecting 140 to 160 thousand tons of melons this year, out of which 15 thousand tons will be cantaloupes, and the rest, watermelons.

One factor that incentivized development and investment into new technologies in the domestic sector is that Hungarian melon farmers have been losing ground on foreign markets to Italian, Spanish and Greek producers. This led to the adoption of new, hybrid cultivars and the wider adoption of polytunnel melon farming in the country.

The number of small grocery stores is shrinking

Népszava.hu reports that the number of small grocery stores has been rapidly declining in recent years. Gábor Antalffy, President of the National Trade and Hospitality Advocacy Association (KISOSZ) told the portal that in the second half of 2023, four thousand retail businesses closed down, reducing the number of stores to below 100 thousand. Two decades ago, there were 37% more retail businesses, with 157 thousand shops operating in the country.

Mr. Antalffy said that the expansion of large retail chains has led to a concentration on the retail market. E-commerce has also had a substantive effect on the sector. Another issue is high overhead costs (e.g. water, energy prices, which are made worse by old, wasteful freezers in small stores.)

The portal adds that, based on data from the Central Statistical Office (KSH), at the end of last year, the number of grocery stores (food retail stores) fell below 33 thousand. Despite this, the declining trend affected grocery stores the least. Their numbers decreased by 2.6% compared to June 2023 and by 5.2% compared to June 2022. [GKv1] 

Food industry: competitiveness and health

Hungarian food products face significant import pressure, which consumers can clearly perceive. This was stated by Giacomo Pedranzini, general manager of the meat processing company Kométa, to Agrárszektor.hu at the Portfolio AgroFood 2024 conference.

“"It is important for Hungarian consumers to buy Hungarian products, but we can only achieve this if we can provide them with the best value for money. Right now, I would still say that it's better to eat a little less, but of higher quality, tastier food,” the company head told the portal. The manager also stated that he agrees with the high level of subsidization in the Hungarian food industry, and that food processing should also be made a priority aside from primary production.

Mr. Pedranzini, along with other stakeholders, signed the founding document of a new industrial initative named Honest Food. According to him, for almost half of the consumers in Hungary (47%), price is the primary factor in food shopping. In Europe, the average life expectancy at birth is 81.5 years, while in Hungary, the average life expectancy at birth is 76.9 year, says Mr. Pedranzini, who also said that the nonprofit Honest Food initiative “promises a more sustainable and healthier environment for both consumers and businesses.”

Apricot harvest “satisfactory but not plentiful”

Apricot trees started flowering earlier in 2024 due to a mild winter and early spring. However, spring frosts in March and April caused varying levels of damage in the crops.

This year, the apricot harvest is expected to be between 16 and 18 thousand tons. Ideally, as much as 20 thousand tons might be harvested this season, however, the worst case scenario right now is a yield under 15 thousand tons. This will depend on the weather over the next two months, according to information from the FruitVeB growers' association, as reported by TradeMagazin.hu.

The portal also writes that before 2018, Hungary used to export 4 to 5 thousand tons of apricot annually. However, in recent years, due to unpredictable yields and produce supply, the export quantity has decreased to between 1 and 2 thousand tons, while imports have increased, to also reach between 1 and 2 thousand tons annually.

The production area of apricot grew from 4 thousand hectares in 2013 to 5.7 thousand hectares in 2020. However, in recent years it decreased to 5 thousand hectares due to frost damages. In particularly bad years, like 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2023, the total apricot harvest barely reached 6-8 thousand tons in a season. In 2019 and 2022 however, more than 20 thousand tons of apricots were harvested in Hungary.