You can save a lot with Árfigyelő in the last days before Christmas

The Hungarian Competition Authority – in cooperation with the Government – ​​launched the online Price Monitoring System on July 1, 2023, initially with 62 monitored product categories. The system is under continuous development and expansion, as a result of which it is now possible to track the daily changing prices of more than 5,000 food and household products in 140 product categories in six national retail chains and three national drugstore chains, a total of 1,799 stores.

The online Price Monitor contains practically all food products – meats, dairy products, vegetables, fruits, baked goods, and non-perishable foods – that are the ingredients and raw materials of the dishes that are on the festive table at Christmas. In addition, From the summer of 2025, the daily updated prices of various household and hygiene products can also be monitored in the Price Monitor.

The GVH previously determined that the effect of the Price Monitor has reduced the gross profit of retailers in the system by approximately 10 percentage points margin on dairy products. According to the calculations of the Makronom Institute, the system saved Hungarian households nearly 20 billion forints in the winter months of 2023/24 through its price-reducing effects. Based on the Hungarian example, an online price comparison system was recently launched in Slovakia in the fight against inflation. The system, which will be available from July 2025, has been in trial mode for half a year, and the improved version has recently been launched in the neighboring country. For now, fewer product prices can be tracked in the Slovak system than in the Hungarian one.

The GVH also announced on Tuesday that it is jointly investigating with the Hungarian National Bank (MNB) how the significant strengthening of the forint experienced in recent months is reflected in Hungarian consumer prices, especially in the case of imported products and food. The national competition authority is also using historical data from the online Price Monitor it operates for the investigations. The GVH considers the application of the tools in its competition law toolbox, so in justified cases it may launch an accelerated sectoral investigation in order to assess sectoral problems from a competition-focused perspective, or it may even launch competition supervision proceedings against affected market participants.