Significant Increase in Vegetable Production over the Past Decade and a Half

Domestic vegetable production has made significant efficiency gains in the past decade and a half, most clearly reflected in yields, said Agriculture Minister István Nagy.

Between 2010 and 2023, yields per hectare in Hungary more than doubled for tomatoes and increased by four-fifths for peppers. In addition, farmers harvested more carrots, tomatoes, onions, green peas and sweet corn, reads the Ministry of Agriculture’s statement.

István Nagy stressed that although the weather has a serious impact on the performance of the horticultural sector, the market environment, the volatility of consumer demand or input prices, government measures to support production security and farmers’ liquidity have allowed Hungarian vegetable production to improve in recent years, both in terms of quality and quantity.

Although the area under some crops has decreased, the increase in production intensity and the strengthening of professional producers have been accompanied by an increase in yields in recent years.

Tomatoes are a good example of this trend, with volumes rising by almost a third between 2010 and 2023 to over 177,000 tons. Onion production also increased significantly, rising by 42.4 percent to over 58,000 tons. This trend was also reinforced by an increase in carrot yields of almost 23.6 percent, green peas of 49.6 percent and sweet corn of almost 68.6 percent, the minister said.

István Nagy pointed out that

the horticulture sector has received significant resources in recent years through the Rural Development Program.

Thus, nearly seven thousand investments worth HUF 185 billion (EUR 467 million) have been granted for

• technological improvements,
• the purchase of machinery,
• the modernization and renewal of horticulture,
• the establishment of plastic and glass greenhouses,
• plantations,
• the establishment of mushroom greenhouses,
• cold storage facilities, and
• the planting of wine grape vineyards.

In addition to cultivation, it should also be stressed that the ministry is devoting considerable resources to the development and establishment of processing facilities, as the investments made are of considerable benefit to the vegetable processing sector. The Ministry of Agriculture has already launched the 2024 calls for proposals for the development of processing industry to increase the value of agricultural products.

Via MTI, Featured image: Pixabay