January 23, 2014

Hungary's 2013 grain crop up 30% on-year

In 2013, Hungary's grain crop rose sharply compared with 2012, as extreme weather conditions were scarcer last year than in 2012, the Central Statistics Office, or KSH, said.

The grain crop totalled 13.5 million tonnes last year, up 30% from 2012, when a heavy draught hit the country's harvest. This is also slightly higher than the average crop of the past four years.

Although agriculture is a relatively small segment in terms of contribution to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), its volatility significantly affects the country's economic output.

This time the significant rise in the harvested crop in 2013 will have boosted GDP growth in 2013. The government, in its latest estimate, projected economic growth could exceed 1% on-year, versus a contraction of 1.7% in 2012.

In a breakdown by grain, corn, the most significant grain in Hungary, yielded a total crop of 6.7 million tonnes, up 41% compared to 2012. Its sowing area was also up 5% at 1.2 million hectares.

Wheat, the country's other flagship agricultural product, yielded a crop of five million tonnes, also up by a significant 25% against 2012 with the sowing little changed at 1.1 million hectares.

In other grains, sunflower yielded 1.5 million tonnes, up 12% on the year while sugar beet output contracted by 0.3% to 879,000 tonnes.