Fish production in Hungary: the industry is struggling with a growing labor shortage
Despite low feed prices and good water levels, the Hungarian fish production sector still faces many challenges. The main problems include low support, lack of development, declining consumption and chronic labor shortages. According to Ferenc Lévai, the spokesperson of the Hungarian Aquaculture and Fisheries Association (MA-HAL), the use of guest workers could be the solution to the labor shortage, but this has so far been less common for fish producers.
In an interview with the Agricultural Sector, Ferenc Lévai said that the conditions are basically favorable for fish production this year. Feed prices are low, and the water levels in the lakes are adequate, which provides a stable basis for fish production. According to the spokesperson, there used to be such an optimal state in fish production, when the appropriate water level of the lakes was already filled and the groundwater levels were also good. Lévai added that even in the event of a hot summer, most of the water can be retained.
Despite the favorable production conditions, fish producers are still struggling with a serious labor shortage. According to Ferenc Lévai, the number of manual workers in agriculture as a whole, including fish production, is decreasing. This problem is so serious that even several hundreds of hectares of lake farms cannot gather the minimum number of 5-6 workers from the surrounding area. According to the specialist, sooner or later they will have to get to the point of employing guest workers, since not all tasks in fishing can be solved by mechanization.
Related news
Róbert Bede encourages Hungarians to eat more fish
We eat much less fish than the EU average, even…
Read more >AM: new subsidies help the development of domestic fish farming and aquaculture
Two new calls for applications with a total budget of…
Read more >New subsidies help develop domestic fish farming and aquaculture
Two new calls for proposals with a total budget of…
Read more >Related news
Carrefour sells Italian branch to NewPrinces Group
Carrefour has entered into a binding agreement with NewPrinces Group…
Read more >