According to an overview published by the National Chamber of Agriculture (NAK) and the Hungarian Fruit and Vegetable Association (FruitVeB), weather conditions in the northern part of Hungary have been favourable for sweet corn development this year. In the southern part of the country, however, growers are expecting a weaker harvest. On a national level, the harvest is forecast to be similar to last year's average.
The price of fresh-market sweet corn is generally high at the beginning of the season but is expected to decline from mid-August. Fresh-market production is mainly carried out by small-scale growers cultivating 0.5 to 1 hectare. In some cases, sweet corn is grown under foil to reach the market earlier, with the first deliveries appearing in stores by late May or early June. This is followed by transplanted sweet corn, which is increasingly being adopted by farms.
Through a combination of different cultivation methods and staggered sowing dates, producers can supply the domestic market with fresh sweet corn from the end of May through early October.
Sweet corn occupies about 24,000 hectares in Hungary, with a large share processed by the canning industry. Processing operations are already underway, and the overview notes that Chinese import pressure observed in recent years appears to be easing following the European Union's imposition of retroactive duties on canned sweet corn from China.
Source: Trade Magazin
