Report and photo gallery on the 2026 Hungarian Tomato Day and Greenhouse Expo
This year, for the fifth time – and once again hosted in Szeged – Hungary’s leading professional expo for the greenhouse vegetable production sector took place, featuring distinguished international and domestic speakers.
Organised by FruitVeB, the event brought together more than 50 professional exhibitors, along with four Hungarian and four international presenters. The conference was opened by Zoltán Gubacsi, Vice President of FruitVeB’s Greenhouse Vegetable Section, and Ferenc Apáti, President of FruitVeB, who outlined the current situation of the sector, its future outlook, and the key regulatory and market changes expected in the near term. They highlighted the importance of VAT reduction, the regulatory framework for foreign labour, the competitive pressure caused by imported products, and the strategic relevance of investment activity.
I. Session – Subsidies and Finance
The first session featured a presentation by Emőke Gódor, Head of Department at the Ministry responsible for Agriculture and the Agri‑Food Economy, who provided an overview of the latest developments in CAP Strategic Plan calls relevant to horticulture, along with the specific conditions for accounting of supports. The session was supported by Certhon Build B.V.
II. Session – Employment
Labour availability remains one of the most pressing issues in the greenhouse production sector. Dr Balázs Simon, President of the National Association of Hungarian Labour Leasing Agencies, addressed the most urgent labour‑market challenges. He focused on three key topics: the remaining labour‑market reserves in Hungary, the regulatory framework for employing foreign workers (which is likely to be suspended and revised), and current issues related to simplified employment. A concerning projection is that the number of active‑age workers in Hungary is expected to decline by an average of 40,000 persons per year over the next 15 years. In the second presentation of the session, András Újszászi, Co‑Founder of Gremon‑Systems Zrt., provided an international comparison of labour organisation with a focus on speed and efficiency. Using the example of a 5‑hectare greenhouse facility employing 44 workers, he presented performance benchmarks for deleafing, pruning, crop handling and clipping, showing no significant differences between Hungarian and Western European operations. He also demonstrated the substantial performance variation between individual workers – noting that in Germany, the gap between the lowest and highest performers must remain within 10%. He emphasised the importance of idle time resulting from organisational decisions and presented gross hourly wage levels across Europe (approx. €7 in Poland, €8-11 in Spain, and €14.71 in the Netherlands). Hungarian enterprises primarily lag behind Western European competitors in post‑harvest work activities (packing and preparation for market), which is mainly an organisational issue – meaning that differences in performance come from outside the greenhouse rather than inside it. The session was supported by Bom Greenhouses B.V.
III. Session – Professional and Technological Developments
The session opened with Lucien Knetemann, Managing Owner of Glasimport Company, who presented the manufacturing processes of diffuse glass and outlined the key differences between various diffuse glass types. He then summarised the yield‑enhancing effects of these materials in tomato, cucumber and pepper crops. The second speaker, Alfréd Forray, reviewed the current virus situation in Hungary, with particular emphasis on the spread of Tomato fruit blotch virus (ToFBV) and the resistance levels of the current tomato variety assortment. He also addressed the importance of disinfection and the spread of Nesidiocoris tenuis. The third presentation was delivered by Marcin Wlodarczyk, consultant at Grodan Rockwool B.V., who shared practical insights into summer crop regulation and climate control. After the lunch break, Marcin Mularski, Managing Owner of the Polish Mularski family enterprise operating on circa 60 hectares, presented the structural changes in their cost composition over the past five years. Unsurprisingly, labour costs have increased to such an extent that substantial investments in mechanisation and automation have become essential. The session was supported by Global Glasshouse Kft.
IV. Session – Innovation
The closing session featured Daria Noda, expert at Blue Radix B.V., who presented the experiences gained from implementing the Crop Controller system at Árpád‑Agrár Zrt., under the title “From Data to Decisions, from Decisions to Results”, interpreted by János Lóczi. The full‑season analysis demonstrated in detail the objectives, applications and advantages of operating a data‑driven, autonomous decision‑support system. The session was supported by Sanfog s.r.o.
The conference provided a comprehensive overview of the current challenges and development pathways of the protected vegetable sector, while serving as an important professional platform for dialogue and knowledge exchange among stakeholders.
Photo gallery of the conference:
