Forint plunge: Slovakians, Austrians swarm Hungarian markets

Residents of Slovakia have been using the euro since 2009. Austrians have been paying with the common currency of the EU for 23 years. Since the Hungarian forint has been breaking new historic lows against the dollar every week, more and more Slovakian and Austrian citizens decide to do their shopping in Hungary because their money is worth more than ever. Of course, not only Slovaks and Hungarians living in Slovakia come but also Austrians.

Austrians and Slovakians can buy much more for their euro

According to index.hu, three years earlier 1 EUR cost 330 forints. Last week, the exchange rate increased to 430 HUF/EUR. Some experts argue that it would continue to increase. Others warn of the importance of an agreement with the European Commission concerning the billions of euros locked in the EU funds.

The Hungarian central bank intervened on Friday. Thanks to a drastic interest rate rise, the forint’s exchange rate normalised a bit (418 HUF/EUR, 428HUF/USD), but its weakening is far from over, experts point out.

Based on a report from the Hungarian newspaper Új Szó in Slovakia, more foreigners swarm Hungarian supermarkets. Austrians and Slovakians can buy more for their money because of the weak forint. A resident from Rajka, a settlement close to the Slovakian-Hungarian border, said she could buy two times more meat for the same amount of money than in Slovakia. “That is a considerable difference”, she added. The situation is the same in the case of dairy products, vegetables, and fruits. Thus, those who can come to Hungary to do their shopping here.

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Even cheaper products are expensive for Hungarians

Index.hu writes that the number of dairy farms ceasing operation in Hungary is rising. That is because of the soaring energy prices and the drought hitting that segment of the Hungarian economy hard. Therefore, dairy product prices will continue to increase in Hungary. In the East part of the country, fodder is a big question mark, while the energy prices pose an insoluble challenge for everybody working in the country. And the question is no longer the quality but the quantity in that respect.

Index.hu reminds us that in July, Tesco started to import chicken breast from Slovakia because there was a shortage in Hungary. That may happen in the future in the case of the neighbours’ products. Thus, it might happen that Slovakians will come to Hungarian supermarkets to buy Slovakian chicken breast cheaper than they could in their country.

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Source: index.hu, Új Szó