Returnable bottles will be available from Easter, which can cost more money abroad

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 02. 02. 13:19

From April, you can expect significant changes in Hungarian retail, as bottles with a deposit fee appear on the shelves. According to the legislation, from the first of July, it will be mandatory for stores to deliver goods in packaging with a deposit.

The larger grocery stores have had return machines for a month, but you still have to wait for them to be put into them. Coca-Cola, Dreher, Tesco, Lidl and Mohu, which operates the return system, all said that products with a deposit fee are expected to appear on the shelves from Easter. This could result in customers finding the same products in two different packages and prices on the shelves from April. Demand for no-deposit products is likely to be high, as buyers will perceive the price difference or extra work due to returns as a significant burden. Therefore, products with a deposit fee without a logo are probably the first to be sold out of the system. For those who do not speak Hungarian, there will only be informational signs in Hungarian on the reversing machines, but they can also familiarize themselves with the pictograms and posters in English. The application, through which the deposit fee can be claimed back, is expected to be completed by April.