Hungary's 2011 maize crop is estimated at 8.1 million tonnes this year based on a July 27 preliminary crop estimate, well above 6.97 million tonnes harvested last year, the Central Agricultural Office said. The government body, which provides the Agriculture Ministry with crop estimates, told Reuters in an emailed response on Tuesday that maize was planted on 1.224 million hectares, nearly 145,000 hectares above last year's harvested area.
The average yield in maize is seen at 6.62 tonnes per hectare, slightly above 6.57 T/ha last year, it said. The CAO added that the wheat crop was seen at 3.9 million tonnes with 94 percent of the harvest completed as of August 1, in line with its previous estimate and slightly above last year's 3.76 million tonne harvest. Farmers planted wheat on 952,000 hectares in the current season, 59,000 below last year's harvested area, it said. Average yields however rose to 4.24 T/ha from 3.72 in 2010, boosting the overall crop.