At the beginning of the spring session of the Parliament on Monday, Viktor Orbán said that the government wants an economic and a political breakthrough.Continue reading
The Ministry for National Economy is holding intensive discussions with market players to reduce food prices, because “what is happening in the stores today is unacceptable.” The ministry expects the retail chains to indicate their intentions by the beginning of next week, or within a week at the latest.
The government remains ready to intervene with all its means to curb food inflation, the ministry said in a statement. Voluntary price cuts should be applied mainly to essential foodstuffs that form a significant part of the basket of Hungarian families and pensioners and were affected by the previous price freeze, and then by the mandatory promotions, or are substitutes for these foodstuffs, detailed the statement. Such products are mainly chicken meat, pork, edible oils, eggs, milk and dairy products, flour, sugar, and other basic foodstuffs, the ministry listed.
Under the voluntary price cuts, the Ministry for National Economy expects retailers to contribute to the stabilization of food prices by reducing their current margins.
Looking at recent price developments, it is clear that the gap between the purchase price and the final consumer price of certain basic foodstuffs has widened substantially, the ministry said. Although some products have seen price reductions in stores in the recent period, these have not been sustained or significant, they added.
Consequently, the ministry expects retailers to come up with a voluntary solution that will result in a substantial reduction in food inflation and bring prices of basic foodstuffs down to an acceptable level.
If voluntary price cuts do not lead to a result, the ministry is ready to intervene with official means against price increases.
With inflation spiraling out of control, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán hinted at the possibility of reintroducing the mandatory price freeze early last week. Soon after, he announced that the government wants to reach an agreement with representatives of retail chains to prevent prices from increasing further. In the event of no agreement, Minister for National Economy Márton Nagy has been given the power to introduce a mandatory price freeze for certain products, and if that is not enough, the government is even prepared to limit trade profits.
Via MTI, Featured image: Pexels