There will be no shortage of Hungarian apples in supermarkets

(Photo: Pixabay)

Zsolt Feldman said that producers can count on the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, as they must protect themselves against frost, ice, and drought in order to ensure crop safety. At least as important is the expansion of sales, which can be helped by encouraging product processing, as well as by establishing warehouses, cold stores, and packaging plants – he emphasized. The State Secretary also trusts in consumer awareness, because the domestic harvest largely stays in the country, so the producers’ livelihood also depends on the customers. In order to have even more customers, it is worth drawing attention to the fact that Hungarian apples are rich in vitamins and minerals, a valuable food that can be consumed every day, he added.

The vice president of the Hungarian Fruit and Vegetable Association FruitVeB believes that the situation of apple growers is indeed more favorable today than it was a few decades ago

At the same time, Ferenc Takács said: the sector’s losses are serious, since in the early 90s, apples were grown on almost 40,000 hectares in Hungary, so today’s 23,000 hectares yield only half a million tons instead of the previous average of 1 million tons. The new plantations, on the other hand, are better able to withstand weather extremes, so today the problem is more and more the sale, in the midst of EU-level overproduction, market opportunities must be found – he added. According to Ferenc Takács, there will be an ample selection of edible apples in Hungary as well, the crop of almost 120,000 tons covers domestic needs, but there are few industrial apples, and processing plants may face a shortage of raw materials this year. Péter Ondré, the managing director of the AMC, assessed the consumption promotion actions organized by the Ministry of Health since 2016 as successful, but emphasized that Hungary has not yet reached the World Health Organization’s recommendation for fruit and vegetable consumption, the domestic average is slightly below the daily value of 330-350 grams. In autumn, healthy nutrition and the protection of the immune system are especially important – explained the timing of the campaign by Péter Ondré, who also considers it important to promote Hungarian apples due to the strengthening of self-sufficiency.

MTI