Motorway sticker prices may increase again in Hungary significantly

The prime minister’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, said the government was expected to make a decision on raising the price of motorway stickers in the second half of September, adding that the rule of thumb was to index prices to inflation. Answering a question about railway services, Gulyás said the government was not planning any further closures of lines.

Meanwhile, Gulyás said in response to a question that more wage hikes were coming on January 1 next year, but the government was also working to ensure pay rises in the real economy throughout the year. The government’s spokesperson, Alexandra Szentkirályi, said the recent price drops indicated that multinational supermarkets had been unjustifiably overpricing products in the recent period. She said the price-monitoring platform had drawn some 1.2 million visitors since its launch on July 1, adding that it will receive updates in the near future, including an expansion of the product categories based on user feedback.

Gulyás said Hungary was consulting with every country on the potential introduction of national import bans on Ukrainian grain if the EU ban is not extended, particularly the four other countries bordering Ukraine. He emphasised, at the same time, that Hungary’s decision would not depend on what the other countries decide. Poland will certainly introduce a measure identical to Hungary’s, he added.

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• Hungarian AgMin: Import ban on Ukrainian grain should be extended beyond Sept 15 – Read more HERE

Asked about the current recession and whether he saw the need to amend the government’s target economic growth rate of 1.5 percent, Gulyás said the government would wait for the third-quarter GDP figures before finalising their decision in October. He confirmed that there was little chance of achieving a growth rate of 1.5 percent in light of the figures registered in the first two quarters. The government had not expected a major change in the second quarter, he said, adding that the only positive development had been that the recession had eased. The government expects the economy to return to growth in the second half, Gulyás said, adding that the 4 percent growth target next year hopefully would be achieved. Asked if this year’s budget would be workable, Gulyás said this could only be determined once the Q3 data was in. The government sees no fundamental issues with the budget, and the most difficult task will be keeping to the deficit target, he said.