Small producers in Hungary are in trouble

In recent decades, shopping habits have changed drastically in Hungary. While people used to shop in smaller specialty stores, vegetable and meat shops, today large hypermarkets and malls dominate, where customers can find everything in one place. However, this convenient solution adversely affects smaller producers, who do not have enough merchandise to enter the larger stores. This leaves them with the market and door-to-door sales, but a significant part of the turnover has already been transferred to larger stores – reports the Agricultural Sector.

Small producers face many difficulties:

Market access: Smaller producers have difficulty accessing fixed markets.

Higher unit costs: Production costs are relatively higher for smaller producers.

Smaller volume: Due to the smaller production volume, they cannot offer competitive prices.

Because of this, smaller producers who are involved in horticultural production as a side job or additional income often give up this activity.

The creation of primary producer markets and basket communities is an attempt to improve the situation, but the number of producers continues to decline. The decline in purchasing power and the cheaper prices of large stores are a challenge for smaller producers.

Constant changes in regulations and logistical difficulties further complicate the situation for producers. Administrative burdens and new regulations, such as the mobile farmer application or the e-farming diary, often work incorrectly or incorrectly, which means an unnecessary waste of time and money for producers.