Hungarian apple orchards: It is sad what is happening to the favorite of many

The yield has shown significant fluctuations in recent years, which is primarily related to weather events (mainly spring frosts). In 2022, we experienced one of the weakest harvests of the past three decades: the harvested amount was only 280,000 tons. Our largest growing area is the county of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg: there are 15,136 hectares of apple orchards here, which is ¾ of our current production area. In addition to the 1,705 hectares of production area of the counties of Heves, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, the north-eastern part of the country accounts for more than 80% of the domestic apple-growing area - reports FruitVeB. Looking at the state and future trends of the sector, it is likely that the annual production area of approx. the decrease of a thousand hectares may continue or even accelerate in the next few years, which will also reduce the yield potential. It should also be noted that currently around 6,000 hectares of apple orchards are under ...