How long will food prices rise in Hungary? Here is the answer

From the second half of the year onwards, food prices will no longer rise significantly. However, there is little hope of everyday life becoming cheaper. Still, the global market developments that triggered the price explosion give cause for optimism. What is more, dynamic wage increases in the coming years could compensate for the new price levels.

Inflation has already peaked in a growing number of EU countries, with the euro area already showing a moderation in the final months of last year, napi.hu reports. In Hungary, inflation is not yet moderating in the winter months. This is partly because of the usual repricing at the beginning of the year and the lagged inflationary impact of fuel and energy price increases.

A turnaround may come in the spring, but a rebound will not until next year

In its Inflation Report published just before Christmas, the Hungarian Central Bank (MNB) expects inflation to ease gradually from March and increasingly from July. This does not mean that consumer price inflation will stop, but it will slow down significantly.

In Hungary, food prices have risen brutally: in November 2022, on average, you had to pay 48.7 percent more in shops than in November 2021. In 2022, the price of raw materials rose by 42.2 percent, while the price of processed products increased by 51.7 percent.