The 5 billion forint (EUR 12.4m) investment was supported by a 2 billion forint government grant. The new plant will produce 19,000 tonnes of cheese every year, he said.

Despite the “wartime crisis”, Hungarian food companies increased their investments to 170 billion forints on the first half of 2022, he said.

Thanks to government support, the output of Hungarian agriculture has grown by almost 30% in the past 12 years, he added.

By now, over 70% of food sold in retail stores comes from domestic sources, he said.

The government has supported the sector with a loan moratorium and new loans amid the grave drought, he said.