NAK-FruitVeB: import pressure is increasing on the cabbage market

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According to the summary of the professional organizations, in the last 4-5 years, the production area of head cabbage has been between 1,600 and 1,700 hectares. Last year, 39.8 thousand tons of head cabbage were produced in Hungary, 7 percent more than a year earlier. Despite the larger crop, however, the amount of imports continued to increase, in the first half of this year, imports increased by 5 percent to 3.07 thousand tons compared to the same period last year. The increase was primarily caused by the sharp increase in Polish cabbage imports, the import from Poland increased by 92 percent to 674.9 tons, they pointed out. They added that the import pressure did not decrease in the second half of the year either, which significantly reduced the purchase prices. Supermarket chains and picklers also prefer the cheaper Polish cabbage, they noted. They believe that all of this points to the lack of market organization, because domestic producers cannot enforce their interests against supermarket chains and processors without cooperation.

According to NAK and FruitVeB, market organization measures should be taken in the cabbage sector

In this way, the domestically produced, high-quality goods reach consumers, and their activities provide producers with a living. In addition, it is also necessary to strengthen customer awareness, since when consumers are looking for Hungarian cabbage in stores, the supermarket chains must also respond. In the summary, attention was drawn to the fact that although most types of cabbage are available all year round, their real season begins in autumn, when the slightly heavier dishes also appear on the family table. Martin’s day goose is unimaginable without various cabbage side dishes, stuffed cabbage comes at Christmas, and korhelyleves comes at New Year’s Eve – they wrote. Cabbage is an important food in the European diet, containing large amounts of vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, selenium, and fiber. In addition to their high iron and calcium content, they also contain vitamins A, B6, B12, D, E and K. In addition to head cabbage, cabbages also include kale, kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, leafy or Chinese cabbage – the summary states.

MTI