Margin freeze on around a thousand basic foods comes into effect
The margin freeze came into effect on Monday, which regulates the retail margin of around 10 percent for around a thousand basic foodstuffs in thirty product categories – announced Róbert Zsigó, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, on Monday in the Monday morning broadcast of the M1 current affairs channel.
According to the regulation that came into effect on Monday, the selling price of the affected products can be a maximum of ten percent higher than the purchase price. For those products on which the profit of traders has been less than 10 percent so far, the prices cannot increase compared to the January level – he explained.
Róbert Zsigó said that the measure was necessary because food prices started to rise again from January, especially for those basic products that households buy the most.
He gave examples, saying that retail chains applied a profit margin of 129 percent to their purchase prices for sour cream, 70-80 percent for yogurt, and 38 percent for eggs, which is excessive and unjustified.
The government asked retail chains to voluntarily reduce prices, but the offers received did not meet the government’s expectations and would not have led to a noticeable reduction in prices, he said.
We will not allow the additional resources that we give to families and pensioners by extending the personal income tax exemption or the 13th month pension to be taken away by the profits of retail chains, the state secretary said.
The margin freeze, which has been extended to businesses with an annual sales revenue of at least one billion forints, will remain in effect until the end of May, but if necessary, the government will maintain the measure after that, he noted.
He stressed that traders who do not comply with the rules can expect severe penalties. The margin freeze could be extended to all food products if traders try to make up for their lost profits on other products, he cited the government’s previous announcement.
Related news
Katalin Neubauer: “Strong state intervention isn’t a good idea in the long run”
We asked Katalin Neubauer, secretary general of the Hungarian National…
Read more >Dr Tamás Kozák: “High inflation casts a long shadow”
Our magazine asked Dr Tamás Kozák, general secretary of the…
Read more >(HU) Dr. Némedi Erzsébet: A boldogság a bélben lakik
Sorry, this entry is only available in HU.
Read more >Related news
WHO: They urge a 50 percent price increase for tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks
The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for the prices…
Read more >Eurozone economic growth accelerated in June
The eurozone’s economic performance accelerated in June, according to the…
Read more >This is how drug prices are changing: the government introduced price restrictions
The Ministry of National Economy’s price restrictions on medicines came…
Read more >