Hungary no longer has enough internal production of this food crop

This year’s drought is expected to make Hungary a net importer of maize, Agriculture Ministry state secretary Zsolt Feldman said after a meeting of the Harvest Coordination Committee on Thursday.

With 40 percent of the harvest completed, the maize crop is expected to reach 3.1 million tonnes, Feldman said. Last year, the maize harvest was close to 6.5 million tonnes. He noted that maize harvests are “significantly lower” across Europe, which will require imports, in large part from Ukraine. He added that local feed companies and other industries are already importing 200,000 tonnes of grain and oil seed crops.

To ensure secure supply, mandatory export reporting rules will remain in force, Feldman said.