Cheese prices may rise: semi-hard varieties are exempt from margin restrictions

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 12. 01. 12:30

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The regulation of retail margins has changed from December 1, 2025: based on the amendment of the government decree, semi-hard cheeses are no longer subject to the 10% margin ceiling. The change was published in the Hungarian Gazette on Friday evening.

According to the new regulation, only cheese creams and spreadable cheeses are now subject to the margin restriction. The most widely traded and previously officially regulated semi-hard cheese, Trappist, as well as several popular imported and domestic products – such as Gouda, Edam, Cheddar, Emmental, Maasdamer – have been removed from the list.

The move may result in price increases in retail, as stores are now freer to set the margins for these products.

New import declaration obligations

In parallel, another regulation expanded the list of products subject to declaration scope:

Product category	Newly notifiable products
Cheese	Gouda, Edam (with specific parameters)
Dairy	All milk, non-condensed cream and butter

Previously, only imports of 1.5% and 2.8% ESL and UHT milk required prior notification; the regulation now covers all milk.

According to industry players, the aim of the amendments is clearly to monitor market developments more closely – however, the liberalization of semi-hard cheeses may pose a price increase risk for households in the short term.