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September 16, 2001
Field Travel Reveals Excellent Summer Crop Prospects in Hungary, Croatia, and Bosnia
Summary
USDA/FAS staff from Washington, the agriculture attaché in
Vienna, and the agricultural specialist from FAS/Budapest
traveled through Bosnia, Croatia, and Hungary assessing crop
conditions at the end of August. The team saw good crops of corn
and sunflowerseed in Hungary, Croatia, and Bosnia. This is an
improvement compared to last season, when much of the region
struggled with a severe drought.
Satellite Imagery of Eastern Europe
AVHRR image showing regional conditions
NDVI vegetation index
Hungary
Hungarian corn production is estimated at 7.5 million
tons from 1.2 million hectares. This is a 50- percent increase
over last year, and 22 percent above the 5-year average.
Sunflowerseed production is estimated at 650,000 tons, from
400,000 hectares. This is 30 percent above a year ago, and
about average for the last five years. Wheat is estimated at 5.2
million tons (3.6 million last year), compared to an
average of 4.1 million. Wheat was grown on 1.2 million hectares
(1.0 million last year). Barley production is estimated at 1.3
million tons (0.9 million) and 370,000 hectares
(338,000).
Hungary experienced generally good weather during the summer and winter crop seasons this year. While total rainfall remained below average because of low winter precipitation, summer moisture was near-normal, benefiting corn and sunflower. However, the increased June precipitation probably cut wheat quality. Compared to last season, when Hungary and Eastern Europe struggled with a severe drought, this season’s rainfall was much improved. Sunflowers and corn looked good in late August.
Tolna County continues to be Hungary's best yielding corn region, followed by adjacent jurisdictions in Hungary’s Transdanubia (the hilly region west of the Danube River.) Much of the corn is produced from short plants that mature quickly. These early maturing varieties, typically producing yields 10-15 percent less than later maturing varieties, are often preferred because of their drought resistance. An additional benefit of the early maturing (30-40 days earlier) corn is that the ears have more time in the season to dry naturally, lowering drying costs.
A local source said that for Hungarian farmers, access to capital is not a problem. Price fluctuations affect them the most. Team members had not heard this in earlier travels through Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia. Throughout the Balkans, access to loans was a very basic and common problem. However, Hungary's problems with price fluctuations had similar results in that obtaining fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides became difficult. With changing prices, producers do not know if a profit can be reached, so often they minimize these expensive inputs in efforts of keeping total costs low.
Rainfall in Hungary
Western Hungary
(Transdanubia)
Eastern Hungary
South Central Hungary (corn
region)
Bosnia and Croatia
The agricultural regions of Bosnia and Croatia lie along the
eastern edges of each. Slavonia, the eastern part of
Croatia, and the area around Brcko and Bijeljina in Bosnia are
agricultural centers. The larger area is located in
Croatia. Fields in Bosnia are much smaller than those in
neighboring countries, including Croatia. Existence of land
mines in the region countries prevented close field inspection of
crop areas.
Bosnia and Croatia are both experiencing very good summer crop seasons. However, excessive rains in June created serious problems for harvesting wheat. Significant lodging and flooding, particularly along the Drina and Sava River Valleys, were reported. The hardest-hit fields appeared to be vulnerable to occasional flooding, although this was still locally devastating to individual farmers in low-lying areas. Total wheat production likely will not be reduced as much as anticipated earlier. However, overall wheat quality doubtless suffered in all parts of Croatia and Bosnia.
Croatia is expected to produce 2.1 million tons of corn from 380,000 hectares (0.8 million was produced from 0.2 million hectares during the 2000 drought year). Wheat is estimated at 950,000 tons (1.0 million) from 215,000 hectares (235,000).
Bosnia/Herzegovina is estimated to produce 875,000 tons of corn from 230,000 hectares compared to last year’s 800,000 tons from 300,000 hectares. Wheat production is estimated to be 270,000 tons (250,000) from 100,000 hectares (114,000).
Satellite Imagery and Rainfall Data for Serbia and Bosnia
Heavy June rainfall recorded at Loznica, Serbia (just across the border from Bosnia)
Bijeljina, Bosnia before heavy June rainfall (Landsat image)
Bijeljina, Bosnia after June rainfall
(Landsat image)
Note the very small fields in Bosnia relative to Croatia
Current Weather in Eastern Europe
Additional Images from the Trip
