Shocking: Shopping is a third more expensive in Hungary than in Poland
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There are significant differences between food prices in Hungary and Poland. Prices in Hungary are, in some cases, 30-40 percent more expensive than in the Northern European country. Why exactly is that? Read on to find out.
Prices in Poland are much lower
Why are Hungarians food prices so much more expensive that those in Poland? According to napi.hu, experts say this is because the productivity of Hungarian domestic agriculture lags behind that of leading European countries. Even Poland, which is in the middle-ranks. Food prices started to rise in Poland in mid-2022 as well. However, it is still much cheaper to shop there than in Hungary, according to an analysis by novekedes.hu.
The economic portal has investigated the reasons for the sometimes seemingly unjustified price differences, taking into account several aspects.
VAT is also higher in Hungary
The analysis points out that the lower prices in Poland are only partly explained by the fact that the VAT on basic foodstuffs is zero, while in Hungary the predominant products are those with a 5 percent sales tax. The Polish VAT is 23 percent, compared to the Hungarian 27 percent. However, according to novekedes.hu, the differences are so large for the food products under investigation that they cannot be explained by differences in VAT only.
The differences: milk
The portal’s investigation compared the original, not discounted, prices in Lidl’s Hungarian and Polish special offer magazines between 12 and 14 January. At Lidl in Hungary, a litre of one and a half percent milk costs HUF 399 (EUR 1). In Poland, each litre of half-percent milk costs HUF 271 (EUR 0.69). In other words, the price in Hungary is about a third higher.