Dutch-owned FrieslandCampina Hungaria will invest HUF 5.1bn at its dairy plant in Mateszalka (NE Hungary), Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday.

The government is supporting the investment, which will preserve 784 jobs, with a HUF 900m grant, Mr Szijjarto said.

The investment will boost capacity by 25pc by upgrading technology for fermented dairy products as well as increasing output of desserts, raising production of its Pottyos brand of chocolate-covered cottage cheese snacks over 1m a day, he added.

Mr Szijjarto said Dutch-owned companies employ 15,000 people in Hungary, and bilateral trade between Hungary and the Netherlands exceeded EUR 8.5bn last year.

FrieslandCampina CEO Peter Szautner said the investment would create new opportunities for sales on foreign markets. He noted that 300 of FrieslandCampina’s 1,500 employees work in Mateszalka. The company has operated a shared services centre in Budapest since 2017, he added.