EPR and DRS pose challenges for the Hungarian wine industry

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 07. 16. 11:31

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The newly introduced Extended Producer Responsibility System (EPR) and the Mandatory Redemption System (DRS) represent a significant challenge for Hungarian winemakers, which impose both administrative and budgetary burdens on the sector. According to the Agricultural Sector’s report, although the usefulness of the new systems is shared among winemakers, the sector is in a difficult situation due to the combined effect of rising costs and declining consumption.

The new regulations, which entered into force in 2020 and 2021, generate significant additional costs for wineries, which they cannot pass on to consumers in the current market conditions. This is especially true in the case of special, protected-of-origin wines, such as Tokaj and Eger wines, which are subject to specific packaging requirements, for example the use of glass bottles is required by EU law.

According to Dávid Brazsil, the secretary general of the National Council of Mountain Communities, the cost increase depends on which products and packages are involved. For example, in the case of champagne, there are strict EU regulations for glass bottles. The changes can also be felt in the pricing, although the decision-makers decided that the rate of the fee to be paid for wine bottles will remain the same as the previous product fee.

Hungarian wineries are thus under double pressure: on the one hand, consumption is decreasing due to changes in the global wine market, and on the other hand, domestic regulatory changes are increasing costs. For the workers and decision-makers in the sector, this clearly indicates the need for further negotiations and possible regulatory relaxations so that the Hungarian wine industry can maintain its competitiveness on the international market.