This is how much the Christmas fish will cost this year

– For us, fish juice is the basis, there is no Christmas without fish juice – he declared Kinga Bán Somosnéwho also prepares trout from Lillafüred for his grandchildren at this time.

At Nagy Botondyk probably no fish this year. – We don’t buy fish. The children don’t even like it that much, and it’s insanely expensive, so we’ll think about it, he said. – But we’ll definitely eat a good carp at grandma’s! he added.

– This year, the prolonged drought caused unprecedented damage to the fish farms, as not enough water or rainfall reached the fish ponds – he summarized to our editors at the outset Bence of Sirákithe executive director of the Hungarian Aquaculture and Fisheries Interprofessional Organization (MA-HAL).

Fish ponds and the blade edge

– Even in winter and spring, it caused a serious problem that not enough snow or rain fell, so many fish producers could not even fill their fish ponds – said Bence Sziráki.

According to the specialist, all of this has also significantly affected the fish ponds with valley closure dams, for the management of which rainwater is essential. According to him, the problem was slightly smaller in the Great Plains, where round-fill fish ponds are operated, because they were able to continuously replenish the amount of water that evaporated from the rivers through the various canal systems.

– At the same time, they got into serious trouble because this kind of water supply became very expensive due to the energy prices that went wild as a result of the Ukrainian-Russian war. After all, they were able to replace the evaporating water with electricity and diesel pumping equipment. It was much more expensive to run them than last year. At the valley dam lakes, the water came by gravity, but there was no supply. Thus, both types suffered this year. Additional problems were caused by other operating costs, including the explosion of feed prices, the increase in the cost of transportation, the increase in the cost of purchasing public services and equipment, not to mention the increase in wages. These forced fish producers to raise prices, since if these were not enforced, they would go bankrupt. Even so, many fish producers are “dancing on the edge” because they are struggling to survive this year.

There will be enough fish for Christmas

At the same time, there is still great potential in Hungarian fish production, according to Bence Sziráki.

– After all, Hungary exports 5-6 thousand tons of live fish every year. And in order to supply the domestic market, Hungarian fish producers voluntarily limit exports. So they mainly ship to domestic markets this season. This is done in order to have the right amount and quality of domestic fish on the table at home, emphasized the executive.

This was the most expensive

THE KSH its monthly breakdown statistics continuously reports the average consumer price per kilo of food, including fish. From this point of view, the most striking data is the 42 percent increase in the price of carp slices and carp fillets per kilo in one year. Until last year in October It was HUF 2,520 the average price of carp fillets per kilo in Hungary, until then this October already HUF 3,580 had to be paid for sliced ​​or filleted carp per kilogram.

Fish and tomatoes

– I think that whether we look at baked goods or other types of food, the change in the consumer price of fish is not outrageously high. It follows the increase in the price of other foodstuffs, which is mostly due to rising input material prices. In this case, the fish is not outrageous, this number is indeed high, but it did not become more expensive than any other food. If you look at any supermarket, you will find a kilogram of tomatoes between HUF 1,600 and HUF 2,500, while live carp can be bought for HUF 1,700 per kilo in the same supermarket. I think fish is still not a luxury item, people can afford it. If they can buy tomatoes, then this biologically very valuable food is perhaps not so expensive – emphasized Bence Sziráki.

Our favorite is carp

Hungary is the third largest carp producing country in the European Union. The managing director also spoke about the expected development of prices.

– At Christmas, you will be able to get live carp for a price of between HUF 1,700 and HUF 2,000 per kilo. The same can be sliced ​​for between HUF 3,500 and HUF 4,000 per kilogram. The price of our other most popular fish, the African catfish – which is usually sold to consumers filleted – will be between HUF 3,800 and HUF 4,200 per kilo, he explained.

Outlook after Christmas

According to Bence Síráki, if more precipitation arrives in the country and the new calls for the operational program start next year, then the sector will be able to recover from this crisis.

– I am very confident that the government perceives this problem and will provide financial assistance, similar to the pig sector or the poultry sector, which has already partially happened. After all, fish farming has also been included in the circle in which farmers who were affected by the drought can take out a 3 percent loan. This is also a temporary, periodical help that is available. But it is important that Christmas goes well, that there is enough rainfall and that the operational program for Hungarian fish farming starts. If these three work, the sector will remain on its feet – stressed Bence Sziráki.

Fish on the map for Christmas Every year at the beginning of December, the Hungarian Aquaculture and Fisheries Association prepares an interactive map where consumers can find the producer’s sales point closest to them. In such cases, a lake farm and a fish processor also open temporary fish sales points, where consumers can get fish at a more favorable price. – Our portal, www.halpentek.hu, which will be relaunched after December 10 this year, will help you find them – explained the executive. Bence Sziráki, the executive director of the Hungarian Aquaculture and Fisheries Interprofessional Organization, also recommended the Trout Farm in Lillafüred to the attention of those who want to buy fish from a local producer, including carp or trout. The latter producer will also be included in the recommendation of the search portal of the professional organization. Since the price of live fish per kilo is much lower than that of filleted or sliced ​​fish, the professional organization also wants to help housewives. “Many people shy away from buying live fish.” Our Fish Friday campaign also helps in this, as we have materials available on the video sharing portal in which we help with various domestic fish species – be it carp, African catfish, perch or bream – on how to easily peel and prepare them. We have hundreds of recipes on the Internet that break out of the prison of the traditional griddle and fish soup, and we give tips on fish dishes that can be prepared with modern technologies and lots of vegetables, said the managing director of MA-HAL.