Hungary's new grains crop is developing well due to mild weather and ample rainfall and producers expect a medium to good season after last year's poor harvest, a grain producers' body said on Monday.
"The sowing was covered with a nice layer of snow during the frosty weeks so now it seems that the seeds have favourably endured the winter," said Jozsef Vancsura, chairman of the Association of Hungarian Grain Growers. "As it stands right now, we are set for a medium to good year," he said. After a series of bumper crops, Hungary's grains output plunged last year as summer drought nearly halved the maize crop, while the fruit crop was also damaged by spring frosts.
Data released by the Central Statistics Office last month showed Hungary's grain crop fell 41 percent to 9.63 million tonnes last year. However, with unseasonably mild weather and sufficient rain in past weeks, Vancsura said that barring a repeat of last year's drought, conditions favoured a good harvest in 2008.
"The quality of the sowing is good, there is no drought and no flooding. For the time being the weather looks fine, there has been enough rain and even rainfall recently," Vancsura said.