Official: huge shortage of sugar in Hungary

It is well known that if a good has an official price, sooner or later there will be a high demand for it. When it is an essential foodstuff like sugar, the inevitable comes sooner than later. And it already happened. Empty shelves where sugar should be, clueless customers, helpless cashiers.

Empty shelves greet shoppers, and wherever the goods come, they are snapped up within minutes. This is the new reality for Hungarian people. Especially now that the festive season is coming, more and more people plan to bake home – but will they be able to?

Sugar hunt but without sugar

Telex staff went on a “sugar hunt” in the shops of several large supermarket chains. Generally, they only found the location of the sugar on the shelves, not the sugar itself. In addition, the staff interviewed could not say when new deliveries would arrive. They themselves did not know when they would receive another consignment.

“Grab two packets quickly, because we might not have them for days!” This is what the salesperson said in a Spar in Budapest when asked about the officially priced granulated sugar. However, of course, there was no shortage of market-priced sugar cubes and cane sugar. One could even choose between brands.

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Official prices eventually lead to shortages 

One seller said a ten-pack of granulated sugar was the last thing the shop received. You can’t put it on the shelves, because it will disappear in an instant. “Shocking, just like in socialism! I’m reminded of the joke after the war, that fat was getting more expensive by the hour as there was less and less of it,” remarked an elderly shopper in the Spar in the Mammut shopping centre, who also wanted to buy sugar.

No wonder that many shops have experienced a shortage of granulated sugar. Critics of the price freeze were sceptical when official prices were first introduced. They warned that the official price would eventually lead to shortages of goods, such as fuel.

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Temporary stock shortages

Telex staff in the large network units were advised to try smaller shops. However, the situation was no better in these. In response to a question from Telex, the head offices of the chains said that the price freeze had led to a higher than previous shortage of granulated sugar and that there can be temporary stock shortages.

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Source: Telex.hu