Weaker plum harvest expected

The harvest in the northeastern part of the country, which accounts for almost half of the growing area, will be average or good depending on the variety, while in Bács-Kiskun and Pest counties, as well as in Transdanubia, it will be rather weak. Based on these, this year’s total quantity is estimated at 40-50 thousand tons. The domestic plum harvest reaches 60 thousand tons in average vintages, and around 25 thousand tons in the worst ones, they wrote.

The announcement explains the unfavorable outlook with the weather, the problems caused by the atmospheric drought after the spring frost. Strong rootstocks have withstood the conditions better, but irrigation is essential in a significant part of the plantations.

The domestic production area, which was 8 thousand hectares 10 years ago, has now decreased to less than 6 thousand hectares, and about half of the crop is sent to the processing industry. Due to crop failures, exports, which were around 10 thousand tons before 2020, have decreased to 2-3 thousand tons, and imports are about half of this.

They added that plums can be grown safely in Hungary, like apricots, but they need development. The development project, which began with the coordination of the NAK, aims to ensure that varieties suitable for the domestic climate and growing conditions, as well as the corresponding production technology, are available – the announcement reads.