Precious fruit juices: Orange and apple in focus

Orange juice: The impact of the world market

The world market situation plays a key role in the increase in the price of orange juice. Due to the global transportability of oranges, the increase in world market prices directly affects Hungary. One of the main reasons for the increase in prices is the plant disease called orange greening, which has caused significant damage in the largest producing regions, such as Brazil, Mexico, and the USA. Control of the disease is expensive, and yields have declined, which further aggravates the situation. The problem has also reached Europe, and if the disease spreads more widely in the Mediterranean region, an even more drastic price increase is expected.

Apple Juice: Domestic Problems and International Impacts

The rise in the price of apple juice is partly due to domestic production problems. Hungary’s apple crop has been struggling with challenges for many years, which are further exacerbated by outdated technology, old plantations and drought. Modern plantations that would be able to withstand weather extremes are only found in small numbers. Therefore, domestic production has long failed to cover the demand for either table apples or juice apples.

The low domestic harvest has led to significant import demand, mainly with apples from Poland, Austria and Germany. At the same time, according to Lajos Braunmüller, editor-in-chief of Agrárszéktor, producer prices are stagnating, and the rise in the price of apple juice is more due to the increase in production and transport costs.