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