20 percent increase may come, consumption will not decline

We have not yet reached the peak of food inflation. According to the deputy secretary general of the National Association of Agricultural Producers, prices for some products could rise by up to 20 percent a month. Despite the increasing prices, there is no reduction in consumption. Market experts believe that there will be another Christmas rush this year, with no drop in food consumption.

Although people have to pay less for a small purchase in the shop than a month ago, this was due to the capped prices of eggs, milk and the low price of bread, according to a report by ATV News. Apples now cost 100 HUF (0.25 EUR) more than two months ago, when they were 299 HUF (0.74 EUR) per kilo. The price of tomatoes rose by 200 HUF (0.50 EUR) per kilo, index.hu says.

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The cheapest eggs cost 799 and 699 HUF (1.99 and 1.74 EUR), but were almost twice as expensive in November. A litre of milk was almost 600 forints in shops a month earlier, but now it was only about half of that. Brown bread has also become cheaper, by 200 HUF. The price of 8-egg pasta has risen by 60 HUF (0.15 EUR), margarine by 50 HUF (0.12 EUR) and sour cream by 40 HUF (0.10 EUR).

According to the deputy secretary general of the National Association of Agricultural Producers, we have not yet reached the peak of food inflation. András Máhr, the deputy secretary general of the National Association of Agricultural Producers, pointed out that prices for certain products may rise by an average of 8-10 or even 20 percent per month.

“Further increases should be expected mainly in meat products. The purchase price of Hungarian pork is linked to the German price, where prices have risen by 20 percent in the last period”

– the deputy secretary-general said in an interview with Híradó. He added that if the forint was stronger, this would be felt in shops.

The government has made a decision

According to Index, the government has extended the price cap to new categories of food. Eggs and table potatoes, to reduce the impact of inflation and food price rises. The range of goods covered by the price cap has been extended to include:

• eggs,
• table potatoes,
• flour,
• sunflower oil,
• pork,
• chicken meat,
• 2.8 percent milk and
• granulated sugar.

According to the latest announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture, the government has extended the price caps until 30 April 2023. According to Ministry Chief István Nagy, the need to maintain the price caps is due to the protracted war in Ukraine and the “misguided Brussels measures” that have led to sanction inflation.

István Nagy explained that in addition to the price cap, it is necessary to ensure the availability of fixed-price products. To reach this, it has been determined that traders are obliged to sell the average daily quantity of the products concerned in 2021. The obligations will be monitored by the general consumer protection authority, i.e. the county and metropolitan government offices, with the involvement of the National Food Chain Safety Office.