Apple Crop Yield Hits Historic Low

Due to spring frosts, a cool May, drought, and a summer marked by extreme temperature fluctuations, apple growers harvested their lowest yield ever, reveals a joint survey by the Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture (NAK) and the Hungarian Fruit and Vegetable Interbranch Organization (FruitVeB).

Final data on the harvested volume are not yet available, but they estimate that just under 160,000 tons of apples were produced in Hungary in the 2025 season. This volume is half of the already very low yield of the previous year.

Apple cultivation in Hungary (1999-2024). (crop yield, in tons) Source: KSH/Nemzeti Archívum/MTI

Of the harvested quantity, approximately 60-80,000 tons may be table apples and 80-100,000 tons may be industrial-quality fruit. This means that domestic table apple harvest is only 55-60 percent of a good year’s harvest, while industrial apples account for only 20-25 percent of the average annual harvest.

The organizations reported that the extent of the crop failure is significant in both the table and industrial apple segments in relation to market demand.

It falls well short of the 110-120 thousand tons of domestic consumption of table apples and the 350-400 thousand tons of processing capacity, while at least 90 percent of both segments should be served by domestic production.

According to the organizations, there are several factors behind the particularly poor harvest. The extreme drought and heat stress that lasted for nearly three months last summer and early autumn, despite the autumn rains, probably contributed to poor flower bud development.

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The most damage was caused by frosts in early April and on May 10. Then, in June, there were frequent heat waves combined with the high UV radiation and the severe drought that had been going on since early spring. All this caused further losses in quantity and quality, primarily on unirrigated plantations and sandy soils.

Apple production currently takes place on approximately 20,000 hectares in Hungary, only half of what it was 20 years ago.

Despite the sharp decline in acreage, production potential in a good year would be around 500,000 tons, of which around 120,000-130,000 tons would be of edible quality and 370,000-380,000 tons would be industrial apples.

Idared is still the dominant variety in Hungary. The cultivation and yield security of this variety are best suited to the country’s climatic conditions. In addition to Jonagold and Idared, Gala, Golden Delicious, and Red Delicious are also very popular, and the range of varieties is constantly expanding.

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