Hungary: Action plan to save Szabolcs apples
15 to 20 years ago, Hungary had 42 thousand hectares of apple plantations. Today, the acreage has dropped to 26,000 hectares; that is, a 40 percent reduction. In Szabolcs County, the acreage has dropped from 22,000 to 16,000 hectares, and 30-40 percent of the existing plantations are old," said Ferenc Apáti, vice president of the Hungarian Vegetable and Fruit Professional Organization and Product Council (Fruitveb). Without any changes, almost half of Szabolcs' plantations may be lost after 2020, bringing the total acreage down to six to eight thousand hectares. At present, non-competitive crops, especially Szabolcs' Jonathan, are kept alive by the "support system", but this is unsustainable. Therefore, Ferenc Apáti warned that, eventually, "there won't be enough apples in Szabolcs to be sold to retail stores or to export them. He also said that producers are worried about this decline in the acreage, as the apple of Szabolcs may soon be out of the domestic market.
Ferenc Apáti said that in order to change the situation, Fruitveb needs to take concrete steps, and as part of this, he is announcing an action plan to be launched in March.
Source: agronaplo.hu
