Hungarian bakeries are at the forefront of both quality and innovation

Last year got off to a gloomy start for the Hungarian bakery industry, but the players in the sector successfully overcame the obstacles. The extreme energy price explosion in 2022, the steep price increase of other inputs – from grain to auxiliary materials –, the jump in wage costs, as well as domestic and global economic difficulties, world political tensions and the war in Ukraine have put small and large companies in a difficult situation. While at the beginning of last year, the profession expected that up to a third of the smaller businesses could cease their activities, fortunately this did not happen. The companies managed to stay afloat by drastically improving their cost-effectiveness – streamlining production organization, technology, logistics, energy management, and, where appropriate, technical development. The energy price support provided by the government also played a big role in this process.

The seriousness of the situation was also perceived by the retailers, so they mostly succeeded in validating the increased cost in the transfer prices. In the recent period, it has become obvious to more and more traders that the stability of suppliers and the quality of the received products are important.