A new tender will help food processing: a twenty billion forint budget will be opened in the fall

Strengthening domestic processing

The new call is part of the CAP Strategic Plan, aiming to add value to agricultural products, encourage investments that improve market access, and strengthen energy efficiency and self-sufficiency. Support is available for projects of up to HUF 100 million each, with the option of collective investments. Eligible applicants include producer groups, producer organizations, integration organizations, agricultural cooperatives, and social cooperatives. Applications can be submitted in two phases: between October 16–29 and October 30–November 12.

What can be applied for?

Support can be used for developments that directly improve the efficiency of food processing. This includes the purchase of new machinery, technological systems, and logistics solutions that contribute to better product quality and enhanced market access. The goal remains unchanged: to process as much domestic raw material as possible within Hungary, producing higher added-value products.

Over-subscribed previous calls

The current call follows two major programs announced last year: the HUF 150 billion “large food processing industry” scheme for complex processing plant developments, and the HUF 50 billion “small food processing industry” scheme for smaller-scale projects. The former was heavily oversubscribed, with applications totaling HUF 708.5 billion, prompting the government to reallocate funds to support as many projects as possible.

What changes in the new call?

Industry players consider the new HUF 20 billion scheme a continuation of the “small food processing industry” program, but it differs in several ways:

• broader eligibility criteria,

• maximum support reduced from HUF 200 million to HUF 100 million,

• more flexible use of advance payments,

• exclusion of winery and feed production facility developments.