Farmland prices continued to rise in 2017, increasing by an average of 5.6pc , although the pace of price increases was slower than in 2016 when they rose by 22pc, a summary of data published by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) shows.The average price of arable land was up by 3.7pc last year at HUF 1.535m per hectare. The price of grassland was also up by 9pc at HUF 0.58m per hectare. The price of vineyards rose 16.3pc to HUF 2.13m per hectare, for orchards it was up 12pc at HUF 1.61m per hectare and for forests it was up 12pc at HUF 0.68m per hectare.

Last year around 73,000 hectares of land were sold in Hungary. The amount sold was close to the amount traded in 2015 and equal to one-third of sold areas in 2016. In 2016 some 4pc of all agricultural land was auctioned off as the government sold state-owned farmlands. Most farmland was sold in Bacs-Kiskun county, 8,400 hectares, followed by Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg county where 7,900 hectares were sold. Farmland sales were down in all counties compared to 2016.

Data shows that 42pc of cultivated agricultural land was rented out by owners last year, the share was unchanged from 2016. The share of rentals was 55pc for arable land, 42pc for grasslands and 21pc for vineyards and orchards. Rental prices were also up in all categories, rising by 3-8.6pc compared to 2016. The average rental price of arable land in 2017 was up 5.8pc annually at HUF 52,300 per hectare.