An Analysis of the Performance of Commercially-Oriented Farms in Hungary

during the 1990s, Hungary has a varied set of farm types that encompass a wide array of different sizes, degree of capital intensity and forms of ownership. This paper explores the performance of Hungarian farms and concludes that in contrast to other Central and East European Countries (CEECs), the majority of commercially oriented farms are profitable. However, estimates are sensitive to the valuation of own land and labour inputs. From the application of factor and cluster analysis, eight clusters of farms are profiled and the most competitive group identified. While the most profitable cluster also has the highest mean farm size, farm consolidation should not be treated as a panacea for dealing with low agricultural returns in the region.