Conference paper
The Situation of the Sunflower Seed Production in Hungary Before the EU Accession
Zsuzsanna Slezák
Nikoletta Fáró
György Széles
Abstract
However, the sunflower seed production was not free of problems in the ´90ies in Hungary; it is unquestionable, that this enterprise suffered the least, The transformation has affected the producers dramatically here, to; especially due to the privatisation of the background industry. After the bottom of the years 1992 and 1993, the sunflower seed production was more or less balanced, which lasted as long as the year 1997, when unfavourable weather and pest control problems occurred. Since that time, a continuous problem in profitability was experienced; and due to its effect on the industry, a harmonic balance typical for the middle of the century cannot have rebuilt, yet. The most serious problems are caused by the cumulative agritechnical lags. One main source of it is the shortage of capital; the other is the lack of sufficient knowledge. Therefore, the lack of necessary plant protection and fertilization, , own produced poor seeds instead of quality seeds are used. The lack of the knowledge can be explained by the too small size of the farms, thus e.g. a necessary crop rotation is not applied in many cases. The competitiveness of the enterprise can only recover more conditions of the production will change at he same time. Not only the yields should increase, but the agritechnical conditions should be improved. By the time of the EU accession, an average yield of 2.0 to 2.2 tons per hectare will have been necessary to reach in order to stay competitive and profitable with increasing input prices. Still before the EU accession and afterwards, much greater changes and conflicts are expected in the agriculture than in the industry. As these changes will start from the basis of the production, information should start to be given to the farmers and producers right now. Only this will help them understand and view the new system and the new conditions. One of the major challenges of the accession is to improve and harmonise the conditions of the agricultural production, not only in legal but economic terms, as well. This means that the Hungarian level should reach that of the EU in terms of producer prices, direct payments, and profitability and even in consumer prices and wages till the accession. After the troubles of the past years, the preparations for the EU accession raise the questions and tasks of modern management, complex development, quality production and competitiveness. According to the planned four to five years of lining up and technical modernisation, the double of the current annual payments and investments is needed. Along with the overall improvement of the economic conditions, the uncompetitive small farms, the shortage in income and source, which limits the quality and the volume of the production and the lack of the integration, which sets back the production, processing and trade can not be liveable any more.
Keywords
sunflower; production; Hungary
Hrčak ID:
12359
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2003.
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