Abstract
Hungary possesses excellent agri-ecological potentials even in an international comparison. Despite their decreasing economic weight, agriculture and food production are of great significance, since the supply of the population with high quality and inexpensive food is a fundamental social demand and one of the essentials of the quality of life. The development of vegetable and food production is of great importance both from the aspect of healthy nutrition and comparative advantages (cheap workforce, professional expertise, traditions of production, climate favourable for quality). Within the Hungarian fruit production apple and sour cherry are essential branches in virtue of their significance. It is widely known, that – though to a different extent in the case of certain fruit varieties – satisfaction of the need for appropriate habitat is one of the important conditions of a decent quality and secure production. In my research, I analyse the territorial distribution, production standard and production risk of the Hungarian apple and sour cherry branches. I did not have the opportunity – because of the imperfections of the database – to compare long time series, therefore I examine the random effects affecting production by using the data of 3 years (they have the same content). I ranked and assessed each habitat and the production risks of certain fruit species compared to each other on the basis of indexes of relative deviation.
Highlights
The growing traditions and the favourable agroecological conditions of Hungary and the requirements of healthy nutrition all call for the development of the fruit production sector and for the establishment of competitive production conditions
Our international competitiveness depends on numerous factors such as growing site conditions enabling high quality, high productivity per unit area, cheap labour, expertise and growing traditions, cultivation method adapted to the composition of inputs and their costs, appropriate concentration and organization of production, high-level packaging of the product and a good representation of interests via cooperation (Ertsey, 1990; Bagoly et al, 1993; Balázs & Inántsy, 2004; Bernáth et al, 2006; Csepregi et al, 1996; Dénes et al, 2001; Ertsey & Drimba, 2003)
Based on the analysis, it can be stated that the production risks are smaller in the younger, modern orchards and that the large differences in production risks between the two regions is partly due to the different age structure and the different cultivation methods of the orchards
Summary
The growing traditions and the favourable agroecological conditions of Hungary and the requirements of healthy nutrition all call for the development of the fruit production sector and for the establishment of competitive production conditions. The rethinking of the future of the sector – under strong European competition conditions – should start with the analysis of the current situation and with the study of the harmony between the fruit species and the growing sites. Our international competitiveness depends on numerous factors such as growing site conditions enabling high quality, high productivity per unit area, cheap labour, expertise and growing traditions, cultivation method adapted to the composition of inputs and their costs, appropriate concentration and organization of production, high-level packaging of the product and a good representation of interests via cooperation (Ertsey, 1990; Bagoly et al, 1993; Balázs & Inántsy, 2004; Bernáth et al, 2006; Csepregi et al, 1996; Dénes et al, 2001; Ertsey & Drimba, 2003). The total area of Hungary is only 93 thousand km, on which all the crops requiring continental climate conditions can be successfully grown, due to the differing precipitation conditions, soil quality and weather extremes (frost, hail), well-defined growing districts were formed for the species requiring special growing site conditions
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