Hungarians flock to Romania to shop, say everything is cheaper there

Food has become so expensive in Hungary that many people would rather travel not only to Slovakia but also to Romania. Those who do so say that almost everything is cheaper there than at home. And not only food, but also clothes, shoes, etc.

Hungarians flock to Romania to do the shopping

Transtelex reports that it is becoming increasingly common for Hungarians living close to the border to simply cross into Romania to go shopping. The reason is that food has become so expensive in Hungary that it is worth buying groceries in the neighbouring countries.

There was a Romanian shop whose security guard told the journalist of Transtelex that there are days when there are more cars with Hungarian plates in the car park than Romanian ones. Add to that the fact that fuel is about HUF 70-80 (EUR 0.19-0.21) cheaper over there. Thus, it is much cheaper to fill up in Romania.

Almost everything is cheaper

A couple also told the news portal that they can buy sugar cheaper in Romania. Despite the fact that sugar is officially priced in Hungary, it is still cheaper across the border. What is more, there is no limit to how many packets you can buy there. They also said that they had calculated a price difference of 15-20 percent for salami, but they could also buy good quality bread cheaper abroad.

“At home, a kilo of bread costs HUF 900-1000 (EUR 2.40-2.67), but in Ditrău, I bought three kilos for the same price, and I bought that delicious farm-baked bread,”

the woman said.

Significant price differences

Another couple said they could shop in Romanian shops for 40 percent less. They said all food was cheaper there than at home: one of their purchases cost the equivalent of HUF 41,000 (EUR 109.52), but would have cost HUF 60,000 (EUR 160.27) at home, they said.

The Transtelex journalist asked the man why he thought there were such huge price differences between the two countries. “It is clearly because of the bad policies of the Hungarian government,” he said. The journalist asked him whether he thought it was not the “war inflation” blamed by the Hungarian government? He smiled bitterly and then asked:

“Is Romania not a neighbour of Ukraine? And on a much longer stretch than Hungary?”

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