Many Hungarians go to Romania on shopping tours despite government price reduction efforts

The Orbán cabinet introduced mandatory caps on profit margins in Hungary, reducing the prices of 30 basic food products from 17 March. But it seems that shopping tourism in Romania remains a flourishing business. Many Hungarians living in Eastern Hungarian settlements close to the border embark on such travels to buy multiple products for much lower prices than in Hungary. They can save up to 15-20%.

Sour cream, sunflower oil cheaper

24.hu participated in one of these shopping tours between Debrecen and Nagyvárad (Oradea), a big city in Western Romania only 72 kilometres away from Hungary’s “second capital”, the “Calvinist Rome”.

The service provider driving the van filled with Hungarians living in and around Debrecen said there was a constant demand for such shopping tours before. Romania’s 1 January Schengen Zone accession enabled him to open his business and begin transporting people and goods across the border. He said the tours are organised in Facebook groups, and despite the government measures to reduce food prices, the demand remained.

People participating in the shopping tour said multiple goods were cheaper in Romanian shops, while others were at the same price. The journalist of 24.hu said that, for example, chicken breast fillet was 30%, butter 24%, 1.5% UHT milk 11%, and eggs 27% more expensive in Nagyvárad than in Debrecen. However, you could buy sour cream for 12% less, while sunflower oil was also 24% cheaper than in Hungary. Sugar was at the same price.

15-20% saved on the Romanian shopping tours

Fellow shoppers from Hungary said they could save 15-20% if they bought only the cheaper products.

Therefore, we can say that it might happen that a local experiences the same price level as we do in Hungary. However, if you live close to the border and organise your shopping carefully, you can save some money.

Shoppers from Hungary named chips, tomatoes, fruit-containing drinks, dog food and mineral water among the cheaper products. One person said that he paid HUF 56 thousand (EUR 140) while the Hungarian price would have been around HUF 70 thousand (EUR 174) for the same food products.

Read also:

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• Purchase limits, rising prices: downsides to the price margin caps in Hungary