Hungary carries out large-scale imports of corn, including Ukrainian corn

Over the past 12 months, Hungary has imported about 1 million tons of corn, which is almost a quarter of its annual requirement, the Hungarian Farmers Association (MOSZ) said. Hungary is usually a net exporter of corn, but a severe drought has severely reduced its own harvest and forced it to resort to imports. Most of the imported corn is of Ukrainian origin.

“Under normal circumstances, Hungary is a maize exporter, but this year’s crop will be the lowest since the 1970s,” said Andras Mar, Deputy General Secretary of MOSZ.

Hungary is expected to harvest 2.8-3.6 million tons of corn, while the country needs about 4.5 million tons annually. Corn is used by Hungarian producers to produce bioethanol, high fructose corn syrup and animal feed.

According to the Central Statistical Office of Hungary, last year the harvest was 6.5 million tons. An official estimate of the corn crop this year has not yet been published.

Since October last year, Hungary has imported about a million tons of corn, the lion’s share of which came from Ukraine, and some from Serbia and Romania.

Hungary is expected to continue to import this crop. “According to our estimates, in the next twelve months, Hungary will import at least another 1.5 million tons of corn from Ukraine,” said Zsofia Poca, Secretary General of the Alliance of Hungarian Grain Processors, Feed Producers and Traders.

In June, Hungary offered its territory as a possible route for the export of Ukrainian grain, as shipping through traditional Black Sea routes was hampered by Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.

According to Andras Mar, most of the corn that came under this scheme was bought by Hungarian traders and processors, as the crops in the Hungarian fields were destroyed by drought.

According to sources among Hungarian processors, Ukrainian corn is also about 10-15% cheaper than Hungarian corn.

Tags: imports, Hungary, corn