"Hungary's grains crop came in at 8.6 million tonnes this year, 500,000 tonnes more than in 2007, the Ministry of Agriculture has announced.Deputy Agriculture Minister Zoltán Gõgös said 75-80% of the grains crop is of milling grade and only 100,000 tonnes are not even suitable for animal fodder. In comparison, only about 30% of Ukraine's crop is of milling grade.
Wheat crop from 1,124 m hectares totalled 5.6 million tonnes, up from just below 4 m last year. Around 60% of the wheat is bread-quality and the rest can be used for fodder. The good crop allows for exports of 1.5 million tonnes, Gõgös said.
He hinted at a possible “wait-and-see" stance from the part of producers, who expect the price of good-quality produce to go up, as the quality of the grain crops in Europe turned out to be worse than expected. The state secretary noted that warehousing capacities are large enough to avoid storage problems. It happened only once since the change of regime (in 2004) that Hungary's had a grains crop this good, Gõgös added.
The ministry projects 16mt of grain crop this year, against 9.6mt in 2007. Maize crop is estimated at a record of 8mt, a large increase over last year's 3.6mt that was a consequence of a draught."
Source: Portfolio Online Financial Journal
18.08.2008