Food price rises in Hungary: the long-awaited turnaround is on the horizon
For months, foodstuffs in Hungary have seen brutal price increases. One may ask, when will it finally stop? Will the price of food ever decrease? Well, the pace of price increases for some products has already slowed down in December. Obviously, that does not mean we will have to pay less. It could take months before prices stop rising altogether. Unfortunately, there is no hope of a price reduction.
New inflation data
Food prices increased by 44.8 percent in December compared to the same month of the previous year. This is a more moderate but still near-record level compared to previous expectations, Magyar Bankholding pointed out in connection with the latest inflation data.
The prices of lard, cheese, eggs and bread have almost doubled in a year. Compared to November, the main increases were a 5 percent rise in dairy products and higher prices for turkey meat and some processed products. These include quick-frozen goods, soft drinks or salami, napi.hu writes.
Smaller but further food price increases
What is the reason for the smaller but further increases in food prices? Csaba Héjja, senior analyst at Magyar Bankholding, cited the fact that energy prices are being passed on to consumer prices and that demand has not yet fallen drastically.
According to the expert, a positive sign is that the pace of price rises for some products is no longer rising significantly. These include meat products outside the price freeze, some bread and bakery products, and vegetables. There are already some foods for which the annual price index has fallen, such as oranges.
Bankholding expects food price inflation to fall in 4-6 months. However, products are unlikely to become cheaper in the shops.
Source: napi.hu