Hungarian walnuts are too big, not ideal for supermarkets

The demand for domestic walnuts in Hungary is high, but yields are low due to outdated cultivation practices. Despite an increase in plantation areas, only well-maintained plantations achieve competitive yields. To improve, the sector needs to adopt suitable varieties, effective plant protection, and intensive cultivation technologies. The Hungarian walnut market has stagnated, and exports are declining. Additionally, the article emphasizes the importance of choosing the right variety for different production areas and mentions that the KAP Strategic Plan resources can help farmers with new developments. Farmers can apply for planting horticultural plantations from September 10, and the new Agricultural-Environmental Management scheme will start on January 1, 2025.

There is a demand for domestic walnuts, but for successful cultivation, a change of attitude is needed on domestic plantations - said the walnut trade day organized by the National Chamber of Agriculture (NAK), the Hungarian Vegetable and Fruit Association (FruitVeB) and Szatmári Diókert Kft. . Although in the last 10 years, thanks to support schemes, the area of domestic walnut plantations has increased significantly - instead of the previous 6,000, walnuts are grown in an area of more than 9,200 hectares in the country - but the yield has not increased. Moreover, the yield averages in many cases do not even reach 1-1.5 tons per hectare, in contrast to our competitors, where an average of 4-5 tons per hectare is not unusual. according to what was said at the walnut professional day organized by NAK, FruitVeB, and Szatmári Dióker Kft., the reason for this is that there are still a lot of neglected, low-quality walnut plantations in terms of cultivation technology. The size of ...