Hungary freezes firewood prices and expands social support program

The Hungarian government has announced measures to support households regarding firewood costs, including freezing prices at state-owned forestry enterprises at January 1, 2026, levels. To assist vulnerable citizens, the government has doubled the budget for the social firewood program from 5 billion to 10 billion forints and reduced the VAT on firewood from 27 percent to 5 percent. Additionally, the government is preparing an afforestation program involving the planting of several million trees.

In response to these policy changes, naturalist and filmmaker Balázs Szendőfi has raised concerns regarding increased logging activities in the Mátra and Bükk regions. Szendőfi reported observing logging in areas managed by Egererdő, noting that healthy, aging oak forests are being harvested. He highlighted the presence of protected insect larvae at one site and criticized the use of “optical strips”—narrow bands of forest left along roads to conceal large clearing areas. While the government aims to secure timber stocks for the 2026–2027 heating seasons, critics argue that the increased demand could be met without harvesting protected or ecologically sensitive forest areas.