Agrarszektor: this is why Hungarian agriculture is lagging behind

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We should work together, even team up together, because this is the only way to actually develop and define directions. All this would also require government support – it was said at the round table discussion of the Kukorica Kör Egyesület, which was held at the NAK Szántóföld Days in Mezőfalva. The experts also explained why it is not so profitable to grow corn in Hungary today. Gergely Zábrák (Hungrana Kft.) said during the presentation that Ukraine has a high agricultural potential even in spite of the war, and this will continue to be the case in the future. And after the war, this will only increase. Rather, the question is what kind of crops they can produce in the given year, what kind of export volumes they will be able to apply to the market. Sunflower, wheat and corn will remain in their portfolio as a decisive factor, and no substantial change is seen in this. Their crop production structure does not differ much from the Hungarian one, only they achieve the results with different substances and fertilizers, the rules are much more relaxed. According to Zoltán Fórián (Erste Bank), an important question is whether their seeding structure will change, and if so, in which direction it will change. As he said, there will certainly be changes, but there will always be mass producers.

Imports are pouring into the EU

The EU is increasingly “found” by products that were previously produced internally. Examples include sweet corn, honey or even duck meat. These all started to flow in from external sources, which unfortunately overturned structures. All production needs to be carefully thought through, as there are very high risks on this side. – pointed out Zoltán Fórián. Csaba Zsarnóci (OTP Bank) also agreed with all of this, and then added that if the EU protects its own market, the price effects will still have a ripple effect, they cannot be protected. During the presentation, Gergely Zábrák also touched on the fact that in the short term, supply and demand influence prices less. And this can also bring about changes in the fundamentals. The specialist drew attention to one more important thing: the framing of the news has become crucial. He justified all this by saying that if something can be blown up by the media, for example with a strong headline, it can even influence investors in the market.

Is corn not so winning after all?

We see that growing corn carries more and more risks. This is the plant that can yield 1-2 tons per hectare in a bad year, and up to 12 tons in a good year. Other plants don’t have such large spikes. In addition, the prices are also hectic, the volatility can be enormous over the course of two years. These are risks that, if not managed, will have such an exposure in the market that the producers, even the larger companies, will bleed. – said Gergely Zábrák. According to Csaba Zsarnóci, the change of generations is also a key issue, since it is no longer possible to do everything the way our grandfathers did it. This attitude needs to be broken. Zoltán Fórián believes that a problem in Hungarian agriculture is also caused by the fact that most producers only wanted to grow “typical” field crops, and this led to the fact that if someone were to grow some other crop today, there is simply no available data. These structures need to be rebuilt or rebuilt. The only question is how? One thing is for sure: the farmers will not be able to figure this out on their own. – We lack this kind of strategy at home. I don’t see any directions that clearly point in the direction that domestic agriculture should reach this point in 10 years. We are very behind, that’s not a question. Let’s be more efficient, more developed, of course. But this is not tangible either. Our agriculture is heaven and earth compared to others. We should work together, even team up together, because this is the only way to actually develop and define directions. All this would also require government support. – said Gergely Zábrák.

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