The European Commission demands the abolition of margin squeeze

Róbert Zsigó added, “every time we try to hurt the profits of multinationals, when we say that the interests of the Hungarian people must also be taken into account, they always attack us.”

He pointed out that before March 17, the Minister of National Economy began negotiating with retail chains about voluntary price reductions, but no substantive commitments were received from the companies. For this reason, from March 17, the government introduced a rule that retail chains and retailers cannot add a margin of more than 10 percent to the purchase price for about 1,000 products in 30 food categories. The measure has reduced prices, and according to the latest data, the prices of almost 870 food items have decreased, and the prices of 276 products have fallen by at least 30 percent, he explained.

The State Secretary highlighted that an average price reduction of 20 percent has occurred, and the prices of those foods that the elderly, pensioners and families buy the most have remained permanently low.

He said that both retail chains and Brussels say that the government has taken away the profits of companies by doing so.

Róbert Zsigó highlighted that, according to the Hungarian leadership, the payment of 13th-month pensions, the exemption of families from personal income tax, and the additional amounts due to minimum wage and wage increases should remain with families, so a ten percent margin should be enough. He emphasized that the prices of 276 food items decreased by 30 percent and 25 by more than 50 percent, which means that retail chains made extra profits on the products before March 17.