Chamber of Agriculture: Demand for walnuts is picking up, plantation size has increased

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The organizations’ statement sent to MTI on Friday highlighted that walnuts are currently grown on approximately 9,200 hectares in Hungary, which is a significant increase compared to the previous 6,000 hectares. The largest production area is located in the counties of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Somogy. At the same time, there are still many neglected walnut plantations with low production technology; The size of well-cultivated, somewhat more intensive plantations in the country is under 3,000 hectares. It was announced that the annual production could be 6,450 tons, which could be significantly increased by developing technology and increasing the proportion of intensive, irrigated, modern, high-yielding plantations. There is market demand for high-quality domestic walnuts, but they have lost their importance on export markets: they are gradually being squeezed out of the supply due to the rise of Chilean, Australian, French and Chinese walnuts. A

ccording to experts, average yields per farm should be increased to improve the export position of producers

In order to increase the efficiency of cultivation, it is essential to develop cultivation technology, modernize the cultivation system, and primarily create a more manageable crown shape, which would also solve the problems of plant protection. The implementation of the developments can be supported by the subsidies available to the sector: in addition to the plantation planting subsidy opened in September, the new Agri-Environmental Management (AKG) scheme starting in January 2025 can also encourage the renewal of domestic walnut plantations, they said.

MTI