Magyarországon a termelő szemszögéből = Competitive organic farming in Hungary in the Farmers' point of view

The study analyses the competitiveness of the organic farms in Hungary applying qualitative research methods. In 2013 organic cultivation was carried out by 1455 farms on 131 056 hectares which is only 2.5 percent of the total agricultural area. The costs are typically higher for organic farming while yield loss is greater in comparison with the conventional farming. Due to this fact those producers can be competitive who are able to produce marketable quantity and to validate a certain premium during their sells covering their higher costs and losses. The marketable quantity depends on the crops, while “organic premium” is mostly affected by the market conditions. The profitability is strongly influenced by the supports of the Hungarian Agri-Environmental Program. 90 percentages of organic farms are involved in the program. Those few farmers who are successful without this support usually appear directly in the consumer market and sell their products with high premium. The Hungarian organic products do not compete to each other at the present, but in the future quality and the appropriate marketing activity can be significant elements of competitiveness