Potato and pork need foreign import, but pig slaughtering on the rise

According to the agronomist, consumers need to stock their pantries with potatoes and meat products, especially pork. Although both products, even from this month will need foreign import, the number of pig slaughtering is increasing.

In need for foreign import, disappearing Hungarian products

Earlier, we have already wrote about the lack of Hungarian potatoes on the market. The complete disappear of the product means that consumers must pay more for the imported goods, since it is purchased by euros and includes the price of transportation, with skyrocketing fuel prices. Even if there were Hungarian potatoes, most farmers would sell them on foreign markets for euros, which would increase their profits.

According to the agronomist György Raskó, the price of pork will increase by 80 percent, mostly because of the price caps, said he to Napi.hu. The consumer price of these basic foodstuffs is fixed, but once domestic stocks run out, the much higher wholesale import price is likely to cause significant deficits to retailers. Since supermarkets and shops have deficits on the products with price caps, they must increase the prices of other non-price-cap groceries.

Price cap plays a role

In December 2022, Hungarian government published that they extend the price caps until 30 April 2023. All the products with price caps are popular among consumers. This popularity causes the shortages in the shelves of shops.

According to Napi.hu, The Hungarian National Trade Association recently asked the government to remove the food price caps immediately. The trade association believes that the measure is not achieving its goal and does not seem to have reduced inflation in food prices.

In our earlier article, it is clearly visible that the effects of the removal of the price cap is a complex problem. The harsh business environment would ensure that the non-price-capped products, to which the deficits from the price cap have now been transferred, would not be cut back once the price cap is removed. In the end, consumers will face a higher price level for groceries after the price cap than they would have if there had been no price cap at all.

At the same time, there must already be around a thousand small shops that are making a steady loss. These shops are unable to finance the difference between the purchase price and the consumer price, unlike supermarkets.

The reason behind the increasing number of slaugtering

The growing demand for quality meat products resulted in the increasing number of slaughtering, growing year by year. The pig population in Hungary is not increasing, so consumers rely on foreign meat products once domestic stocks run out. The transportation and the purchase from countries that pay in euro cause an increase in prices.

The purchase price of pigs for slaughter has fallen steadily over the past year. However, the low purchase price has been accompanied by higher production costs. This was mainly due to significant increases in feed and energy prices, wrote Napi.hu. The number of slaughter pigs bought in exceeded 3.9 million, up 3.5 percent compared to 2020.

The way pigs are slaughtered has changed due to various regulations. The animal must be killed painlessly after it has been stunned. Otherwise it would be considered as animal torture. There is also a law that such meat products are only for home consumption. Trade is only allowed with specific permits. Today, compliance with food safety regulations is also extremely important. One of these is slicing meat products with a clean knife, which may previously have been dipped in hot water.

• Read also: Hungarian public debt fell faster than expected, according to finance minister

The interest in home-made products is growing despite the fact that the prices of chops, sausages and salami are 10 percent higher than in a shopping centre. Despite this, local products are getting more sought-after than processed or import products. The majority of customers aim to buy quality products, even at a higher price. Also, the process of slaughtering is an old Hungarian tradition. Friends and family gather together to help each other, providing meat products for the winter period.

Source: napi.hu