Hungary: Serious flooding destroys up to 80% of crops

Extreme weather in Hungary came at the worst possible time for farmers, causing wide spread flooding over the whole country. In the south west of the country 30% of the strawberry crop has been destroyed, but the north east has been most seriously affected. In areas with light sandy soil loses are thought to be 10-20% but areas where the ground is of heavy clay loses are as much as 80-100%.

Crops such as melons, peppers, cabbage, tomatoes, sweet corn, apples and sour cherries are among those destroyed in the floods. The torrential rain was the second blow for the farmers this year, having also suffered from late frosts earlier in the year.

The situation was most serious between 4th and 8th of May, when 50-60 mm of rain fell and rivers burst their banks. Poland, Austria, Italy and Germany have also suffered from storms and heavy rain this year.

It is not only crops on open ground which have been affected, many of the country's greenhouses are also flooded. The livelihoods of many farmers at are risk because the surviving fruit and vegetables are of poor quality and now they are facing the added threat of bacterial and fungal diseases such as Clavibacter, Phytophtora, Sclerotinia, Monilia.

The local and national economy will certainly be seriously affected by this situation, the farmers can only hope for high than average prices and compensation from the government.

Farmers' associations currently estimate the damage at HUF 500 million (EUR 1.75 million).