Sweet corn yields were average this year, Hungary remains at the top of Europe

Tamás Pásztor, a member of the NAK presidency, told InfoRádio: the harvest may last from mid-July to the end of October, as sowing and harvesting are carried out in stages in order to continuously supply processing plants. The first yields from non-irrigated areas reached 12-15 tons per hectare, while the irrigated areas in late July and early August experienced better than average results. Although there has been a slight decline in recent weeks, experts expect an average yield overall.

Hungary occupies a prominent place in the world market in terms of quality. Pásztor highlighted that the nutritional values of Hungarian sweet corn significantly exceed those of the Far Eastern and several European products.

The structure of the crop’s use is twofold: only 5 percent is sold in tube form on markets and beaches, picked by hand by small producers. The remaining 95 percent goes to industrial processing, in the form of frozen or canned products, a significant portion of which is exported.

Pricing is set within predetermined frameworks: producers sign a binding production contract with processors, and prices are outlined in December, with final agreements signed in January–February. Prices are also influenced by the sowing date and the type grown – normal, sweet or supersweet. This year, the producer price averaged between 60–65 forints.