Hungarian govt to instruct big grocery chains to offer discounts

In order to lower prices, the government will instruct major grocery chains to offer price discounts, government spokesperson Alexandra Szentkirályi said at a regular press briefing on Thursday.

Szentkirályi said the improvement in the inflation data was already visible thanks to the government’s measures, but the cabinet decided to introduce a new tool based on Greek and French examples, from July 1 at the latest.

The regulation will classify basic foodstuffs into 20 categories such as poultry, cheese, bread, baked goods, vegetables, fruit and cold cuts, she said. And the retail outlets affected will have to offer a product of their choice in all categories at least 10 percent cheaper than the price in effect in the 30 days preceding the special offer, she added.

Products must be selected for the special offers every week in order to ensure that the possibility of purchasing at a discount covers a wide range of products, Szentkiralyi said.

The discounts cannot apply to price-capped products, she added.

Source: MTI