To support its project in Mohacs, the meat processor has obtained an investment grant of about HUF 1.3 billion (€4.2 million) from the Hungarian government, the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó told local news agency MTI.

The funds will be spent on expanding the firm’s logistics and packaging capacities, allowing MCS Vagohid to invest a total of HUF 6.5 billion (€21 million). The government grant will cover 20 per cent of the project.

Szjjártó said that expanding the company's packaging capacity will allow to significantly increase its domestic and foreign sales.

Once completed, the company’s slaughterhouse will be fitted with a capacity to process 1m hogs per year, according to the Hungarian minister. The project will create some 211 new jobs in Mohacs, and its first phase was worth some HUF 7.3 billion (€23.5 million).

The company's new facilities will be fitted with a total surface of 26,000 square metres.

MCS Vagohid is part of the country’s agrobusiness group Bonafarm. The group says it processes close to 45,000 tonnes of meat per year and holds a 30 per cent stake in the Hungarian processed meat market. Its product range includes hams, cold cuts, bacon, salami and others.

Providing state support to the investment in Mohacs is part of the Hungarian cabinet’s efforts to increase the consumption of pork in the contry. In 2014, Budapest launched its flagship HUF 1.6 billion (€5.2 million) programme to support local pig breeding and pork meat processing entities.

Moreover, in 2016, in a bid to foster higher consumption, the cabinet lowered the value-added tax (VAT) on pork meat from the previous rate of 27 per cent to 5 per cent.