Conformation and market effects of corporate cereal farms in Hungary

Functions and existence of agricultural corporate farms have concerned agricultural economists for a long time. It is worth examining in a given market how these forms of companies evolve, work, what effects they have on supply chain, land market or natural environment, etc. Importance of the topic is also underpinned by western experts arguing that a totally different pattern of agricultural structure developed in former socialist states (superlarge farms) than in West-Europe (family farms). The aim of this paper is to present how superlarge companies affect their environment in the Hungarian cereal market, which is one of the leading sectors of the national agriculture. Moreover, growing cereals are suitable for large scale companies, especially in Hungary, where 84% of the total agricultural land was arable land in 2005.Agribusiness,

Impacts of EU Accession on Hungarian Primary and Processed Agricultural Trade

In 2004, Hungary joined the European Union (EU) along with nine other Central and Eastern European Countries, causing several changes in the field of agriculture. One of the major changes was the transformation of national agri-food trade. The aim of the paper is to analyse the effects of EU accession on the Hungarian primary and processed agri-food trade, especially considering revealed comparative advantages, by using recent data. Results suggest that EU accession raised the intensity of trade contacts but had a negative impact on trade balance. Nominal values of both exports and imports increased after 2004, however, Hungarian agriculture is increasingly based on raw material export and processed food import. It also turned out that revealed comparative advantages of Hungarian primary agri-food products in EU15 remained almost constant after accession, while comparative advantages of processed agri-food products has been gradually increasing by time and even reached the satisfactory level in some cases. From the policy perspective, it is apparent that there is a need for deeper structural reforms of the Hungarian agricultural and food sector is the future.EU accession, agri-food trade, primary and processed products, Agribusiness, Q17, Q18,

The Role of Rural Development in the CAP Post 2013

Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

History of the dust released by comets

The Finson-Brobstein theory is used to examine production and history of dust released from periodic comets and to compare dust size distribution in relation to the Zodiacal cloud. Results eliminate all of the bright new comets from contributors to the Zodiacal cloud. Among the periodic comets, all particles of size much smaller than 10 micrometer are also lost. Only the large particles remain as possible contributors

The competitiveness of fruit spirits of New Member States in terms of protected denomination of origin

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

CAP Reform Options: A Challenge for Analysis and Synthesis

The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy is continually evolving. The growing debate about the future of the EU Budget post 2013 raises major questions about the future of the CAP. A formal Communication on the future of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) after 2013 is due to be published by the Commission in the summer/early autumn of this year – in order to launch a full public debate on the issues, and as a part of the Budget Review of 2011. Formal legislative proposals on the post-2013 CAP will then follow in mid-2011 – together with Commission proposals for the post-2013 Financial Perspectives.  It is, therefore, appropriate to review the discussions of further reforms, and also to consider our professional capacity to provide robust analysis of potential futures. The debate on the future CAP is of more than an agricultural interest as it affects, inter alia, the environment, climate change, food quality and security and rural communities and their development. Numerous views have already been expressed on the future of the CAP. However there is very limited synthesis of the options and principles underlying their evolutionary fitness – that is, the extent to which suggestions correspond to the socio-economic environment and political climate upon which the future persistence of the CAP depends. This paper synthesises present views on the future of CAP, and outlines a possible conceptual framework for future research and analyses in the field.Agricultural and Food Policy,

What role for public goods in the future of CAP?

The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy continues to evolve. The public debate about its future post 2013 was launched in April 2010 and a formal Commission Communication on the future of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) was published in November 2010 (European Commission, 2010). The Commission’s detailed legislative proposals are now expected in October 2011. We focus here on one of the most important parts of the debate – public goods and the ‘greening of the CAP’. A major rationale for the large sums spent under the CAP each year appears now to be centred on the provision of public goods. We review the Commission’s proposals for the provision of public goods and raise questions about the apparent justification for the general approach. We question whether this logic properly appreciates the nature of public good problems and whether the apparently obvious solution – provision of compensatory payments from the public purse – actually solves any of the underlying public good problemsPublic Economics,