Domestic sweet corn producers may have a good year this year

(Photo: Pixabay)

While last year’s extreme drought caused serious losses to domestic sweet corn producers, farmers can count on an excellent season this year. The weather conditions have been favorable so far, the amount of precipitation and the temperature have been ideal for the development of sweet corn. According to experts, unlike last year, farmers can count on a good, medium harvest this year in non-irrigated areas. Sweet corn is sown in stages, the first harvest stage can start in mid-July.

Producers cannot complain about the market situation this year either

At the beginning of the year, processors signed contracts with farmers at higher prices than ever before, in many cases offering an advance and an irrigation premium to their producers. The situation of farmers is also improved by the new support system, which prioritizes the production of green peas and sweet corn. At the same time, the picture is colored by the fact that the prices of various input materials are currently at a high level, and in addition, the expenses of those producers who do not get irrigation water through a state waterworks are also significant in connection with irrigation. At the same time, while the situation of producers can be said to be relatively favorable, the processing industry has to face many challenges. On the one hand, they cannot back down from the high purchase prices recommended in mid-January, despite the fact that the price of commodity corn used as a reference point has fallen significantly since the beginning of the year. On the other hand, domestic factories are also significantly stressed by competition.

Our country is one of the largest producers of sweet corn in the world, and we are also a major power in the market of processed products

Last year, however, may have started a change, because Chinese processors broke into the European Union market – due to the lack of products due to a bad harvest. It is not yet possible to estimate what effects this will have on the sweet corn market in the future. We probably won’t be able to compete with the prices, since the crops can be harvested several times a year in the affected provinces thanks to the climatic conditions. Our biggest competitive advantage is that the content and taste of the Southeast Asian crop is far behind that of Hungarian sweet corn.

In recent years, an average of 30,000-34,000 hectares of sweet corn was grown in Hungary, which is the largest industrial vegetable grown in our country

Hajdú-Bihar County stands out among the agricultural landscapes with its over 10,000 hectares of agricultural land, but there are also thousands of hectares in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Bács-Kiskun, Békés, Csongrád and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok counties. About 70 percent of the cultivated area is irrigated, and super-sweet varieties are widespread, 70 percent of them are sown. Sweet corn consumption in Hungary is quite low, only 1-1.5 kg of processed sweet corn per person per year. It is therefore no coincidence that about 95 percent of the sweet corn products produced here go to foreign markets. This is one of our most important agricultural exports.

NAK