This is how much food prices have risen in Hungary since 2017

Customers still shake their heads in disbelief at how much prices have risen in the last few years. If we compare supermarket promotional leaflets from 2017 with recent ones from 2023, it is astonishing to see how prices have skyrocketed in the past five years.

Szeretlekmagyarország.hu compared a 2017 promotional leaflet with a recent one, and the difference is striking. The author of the article presented identical or similar products in two flyers, one dated 30 January 2023 and the other dated 17 August 2017.

Photo: Daily News Hungary – Vivien Rima ©

“I was delighted when I recently came across a SPAR promotional leaflet from 2017 when decluttering. However, my smile quickly frosted over and I almost fell off my chair when I saw how little dairy products, vegetables and pasta cost back then,”

wrote the “lucky” finder of the leaflet.

It is mind-boggling to think that just a couple of years ago, adding a clutch of cocktail tomatoes or a kilogram of Trappist cheese to our shopping basket did not feel like a luxury. You could mix up a simple cheese and cream pasta relatively cheaply, rather than spending nearly as much on the ingredients as if you had ordered it in a restaurant.

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Striking price differences

A 330-gram Magyar tejföl sour cream cost HUF 219 (EUR 0.57) in 2017 and HUF 995 (EUR 2.58) in 2023. A liter of 2.8 percent Magyar tej milk cost HUF 299 (EUR 0.78) in 2017, while now it is HUF 449 (EUR 1.16). The same brand’s 450-gram cottage cheese is now HUF 1,759 (EUR 4.55), which means a 4.2-fold increase compared to 2017 figures.

Photo: Daily News Hungary – Vivien Rima ©

The price of a kilogram of Trappist cheese varies between HUF 4,800-7,000 (EUR 12.44-18.15), depending on the brand, but the price differences are striking with most types of cheese. In 2017, a kilogram of Trappist cheese on sale amounted to HUF 1,339 (EUR 3.47), now it cost more than double.

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Within five years, the price of a clutch of cocktail tomatoes has risen from HUF 299 to 1,299 (EUR 0.78 to 3.37). However, the prices of other vegetables have also increased dramatically. A kilogram of cabbage now costs HUF 398 (EUR 1.03), which is 3.3 times more than in 2017. A piece of hot pepper was HUF 34 (EUR 0.088) in 2017, which is now 4.4 times more. A kilogram of red potatoes was HUF 99 (EUR 0.26) in 2017, now it is sold for HUF 295 (EUR 0.76) with a price cap.

Photo: Daily News Hungary – Vivien Rima ©

While in 2017, customers paid HUF 849 (EUR 2.20) for 900 grams of minced pork, it is now available for HUF 1,629 (EUR 4.23). Spar Danish salami has also doubled in price. Barilla’s half-kilo penne rigate pasta was HUF 399 (EUR 1.04) back then, today its price tag shows a three-fold increase.

“There must be a number of products whose prices have not risen at such a shocking rate in the last five years. But unfortunately, we haven’t spotted any,”

concluded szeretlekmagyarország.hu.

Source: szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu