While it is obviously a relief for buyers to pay lower prices, both the food price cap and the fuel cap caused some problems.Continue reading
As a result of the rush to stock up on price-capped products in supermarkets and discount shops, there are more and more shortages of goods in Hungarian shops. Suppliers are rapidly raising prices, so those small shopkeepers can now buy products cheaper than discounters and large chains. Lidl will no longer sell three price-frozen products to wholesalers in order to ensure the continuity of food supply to consumers.
Under the price freeze, certain food products are available at last October’s prices, and these prices are cheaper than what suppliers are offering to restaurateurs, grocers, and confectioners. This is why they are also buying goods from supermarkets. However, this can result in shortages.
Lidl decided not to sell sugar, flour, and chicken breast to wholesalers. The prices of all three goods are capped.
Lidl Hungary’s primary objective as a retail company is to serve consumers, which is why it has decided to make three products (chicken breast, sugar, flour) available exclusively to retail consumers,”
said Judit Tőzsér, Head of Corporate Communications at Lidl Hungary.
Many retailers have already introduced quantity restrictions, which means that they only supply price-frozen products in household quantities. But even this was not enough to discourage non-residential customers, Portfolio reports. “For the sake of consumers, I imagine many will have to step in and ban wholesalers,” a source with insight into the retail sector told Portfolio.
Featured image via László Róka/MTVA