Arable land prices up by almost 10 percent last year

The average price of arable land per hectare went up by 7.4 percent, below the rate of inflation, the bank said in a statement. The average price of one hectare of arable land was 1.94 million forints (EUR 5,100) last year, it said.

In a breakdown of regions, the price increase was highest, 18 percent, in northern Hungary.

The price per hectare of arable land was highest, at some 3 million forints, in the area of Hajduszoboszlo and Hajduboszormeny, in the east.

In a breakdown of industry segment, per hectare prices were highest, 2.21 million forints for orchards, followed by 2.05 million per hectare for vineyards.

The bank noted that under a state scheme, 12.000 hectares of arable land worth several tens of billions of forints were put up for auction between June 22 and July 14. In a further round, an additional 10,000 hectares will be auctioned off, it said.