Hungary: Spar fined again by authorities

Competition authority fines Spar €12 thousand

Because Spar Hungary Kft. “committed omissions in the verification of implemented measures,” the Competition Authority (GVH) has fined the company €12,430, a recent press release from GVH stated.

Portfolio.hu reported on the case. Previously, Spar had been fined in 2020 for abusing its market power against suppliers. GVH had declared in 2020 that Spar's bonus system unjustifiably and unilaterally imposed fees on suppliers to get their products on store shelves. In addition to establishing the violation, the GVH ordered the company to implement a complex package of measures worth approximately €4.22 million as a result of the proceedings, and therefore did not impose a fine. This included the creation of new jobs. Spar committed to establishing six regional supplier centers to enhance sales opportunities for local Hungarian small-scale producers and pledged that 90% of the opportunities will go to SME suppliers. Spar also pledged to aid its suppliers with training in quality control audit, logistics, storage and marketing.

In a recent review of the measures undertaken by Spar, GVH has found that Spar has completed its pledges. The company actually went beyond its original commitment: It spent more than €4.22 million and established one more regional supplier center than required, making a total of seven centers, and has been operating the system ever since. Between 2021 and 2023, more than one hundred SMEs gained sales opportunities, and the share of SME suppliers actually surpassed 90%. The company also created 23 new jobs.

However, the GVH declared that the company’s verification process was inadequately fulfilled in 2022 and 2023, and had fined Spar as a consequence for the omissions.

Greenpeace celebrates win, authorities reduce battery plant emission limits

Greenpeace Hungary reported this week that authorities have substantially reduced the emission limits of the SK battery plant in Komárom-Esztergom County, in West Hungary.

Previously, the organization officially demanded in a letter that the Komárom-Esztergom County Government Office modify the environmental usage permit for the battery factory belonging to the SK group and the adjacent NMP processing plant, which they reported in the summer of 2024. Greenpeace reported that the authorities had permitted an emission limit of 150 mg/m³ for NMP solvent (N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone).

According to its classification, NMP is a substance that can harm reproductive capabilities, meaning it can damage unborn fetuses. Greenpeace added that domestic and EU regulations are clear for carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxic substances, for which the highest possible emission limit is 2 mg/m³, the organization adds. Hungarian national regulations are also under implementation, as the Ministry of Energy has announced in October 2024 that the government is introducing stricter emission limits for harmful substances, including carcinogenic, genotoxic, and fetotoxic substances, as well as certain heavy metals, including nickel, cobalt, and manganese.

Greenpeace added the context that this regulation was introduced after the scandal of the discovery of ferotoxic waste near the Samsung SDI plant in Göd, near Budapest. According to Greenpeace, in 2021, 81 tons of highly toxic NMP solvent might have been emitted into the atmosphere from the Samsung plant. Greenpeace now reports that, in line with the green organization's repeated requests, the Komárom-Esztergom County Government Office has finally significantly reduced the health-damaging NMP emission limits for the Komárom SK battery factories. They not only set the limits at the legally required 2 mg/m³ level demanded by the environmentalists but further reduced them to 1 mg/m³.

Hungary’s water situation reviewed: Not looking great

Agrárszektor.hu has recently interviewed Péter Kajner of WWF Hungary on the situation of Hungary’s water situation. Water scarcity is increasing year after year, with water resources gradually depleting over the decades.

The most important policy document on the topic is the third National River Basin Management Plan (VGT 3), explained the expert to the portal. This river basin management plan provides a very detailed picture of the state of all domestic waters, including both still and flowing bodies of water, and is necessary to meet the objectives of the European Union's Water Framework Directive. The Water Framework Directive stipulates that – after several deadline extensions – waters must be in good condition by 2027 at the latest. The overall picture shows that the country is still far from this goal.

During the period of the previous plan, VGT 2, 44% of rivers were in moderate ecological condition, and only 7% were in good ecological condition. By the early 2020s, during the VGT 3 period, nearly 64% of watercourses were in moderate ecological condition, and 11% were in good ecological condition.

Improvement with still bodies of water are harder to measure as in the previous plan there was little data on their ecological conditions. Currently, only 12% were in good ecological condition, while nearly 67% received a moderate rating.

Moreover, water availability levels are falling. Water availability is worsening throughout Hungary, with the Tisza river basin being in the most critical condition. In the upper Tisza sub-basin, the average water flow has decreased by 46% over this 40-year period.

This situation is partly due to the changed climate but also partly caused by a water management system focused on fast drainage, causing most of the water to pass through without being utilized locally. Additionally, groundwater reserves are showing a declining trend, with a continuous drop in groundwater levels observed in most sub-basins.

Agriculture minister promises €2 billion in subsidies

Agrárágazat.hu reported this week that Minister Nagy has recently spoken about more than 40 new agriculture subsidy schemes in 2025, worth €1.96 billion in total.

The subsidies in the field of agriculture and rural development will cover many topics, the portal writes. These include farm and irrigation development, machinery acquisition, generational transfer, climate adaptation, animal husbandry, horticulture, forestry, animal gene preservation, animal welfare measures, compensation subsidies for farmers in Natura 2000 areas, and more.

The minister also announced a €196.4 million support scheme for young farmers starting their careers. From February, small farmers will be able to apply for irrigation development support with a budget of €41 million. Large agricultural companies will also have access to an irrigation development support scheme with a budget of €124.3 million.

In the spring, an investment support scheme will be launched targeting small farmers, as a small-scale investment grant, where they can apply for support in the purchase of machinery suitable for animal husbandry, horticulture, and processing.

The minister also mentioned that last year, 32 tenders were announced with a total budget of approximately €3.13 billion, marking the beginning of the implementation of Hungary's strategic plan for the EU's Common Agricultural Policy.

Organic farming steadily gains in Hungary

New data on the state of organic farming in the world has been presented at the BIOFACH 2025 in Nürnberg in a new publication. The area used for organic farming has now reached nearly 99 million hectares. Europe remains the second largest market for organic products after the United States, with a turnover of €46.5 billion. With its 320,251 hectares, Hungary ranks 25th in the world for organic areas in size,.

In Europe, organic farming areas have reached 17.7 million hectares. Spain has taken the lead from France in terms of area size. When it comes to the share of organic of the total utilized agricultural area, Austria tops the ranking in Europe with 27%. In the European Union, 435 thousand farmers cultivate land under organic systems, with the most (84,191) in Italy. Germany remains the largest market in Europe for organic products, with an annual turnover of €16.1 billion. As in previous years, Denmark has the highest market share for organic food (11.8%), closely followed by Switzerland (11.6%).

In Hungary, in 2023, 5,983 farmers cultivated 320,251 hectares under certified organic systems, representing 6.4% of the total agricultural land. In the world rankings, Hungary has the 25th largest organic area and the 33rd highest organic share. The country is currently in the top quarter of countries globally.