The Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture (HCA) has called on Lidl to stop decreasing its watermelon prices because it threatens Hungarian watermelon production. According to HCA, the supermarket chain’s action may lead to the stop of Hungarian watermelon production and makes it impossible to produce quality melons. Lidl answered to the chamber in a statement, claiming that agriculturers had asked for help in order to sell the surplus.
According to the Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture (HCA), watermelon production is threatened by Lidl’s watermelon prices, as Lidl Hungary has announced a price-cutting action in the middle of the Hungarian watermelon season. Their prices are currently sitting at 99 forints (EUR 0,3) – however, the HCA estimates that the real price would be around 150-200 forints. The chamber called on the chain to end its “price-cutting action that threatens watermelon production.” HCA believes the 99 forints price is not enough to produce high-quality fruits taking into account that it is only the middle of its season, the costs of production and multi-year market experience. They called Lidl to “stop the price-cutting action against watermelon production and comply with the legal requirements for fair market behavior and practice.”
According to Mfor, Lidl has answered in a statement to HCA, claiming that agriculturers had asked for help in order to sell the surplus. The company said that too many watermelons cropped, so the producers asked for support in selling the excess. As they write, “in recent days, all Lidl’s watermelon supply partners have requested the supermarket chain to support the sale of the excess melon accumulated on the land by offering lower prices supporting both promotional and export activities. On the basis of this request, Lidl Hungary lowered the price of watermelon to 99 forints per kilogram, which allowed its partners to sell more watermelons to other Lidl countries. ”
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