The trade association and the competition authority interpret the results of the competition office’s investigations differently

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 08. 12. 12:27

According to the National Trade Association (OKSZ), investigations by the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) also support the need to phase out the margin reduction; however, the competition authority stated that the conclusions drawn by the association cannot be derived from the accelerated sectoral investigations and emphasized that the GVH has not made and will not make any proposals to phase out the margin reduction.

In a statement sent to MTI on Monday, the OKSZ wrote that the preliminary results of the sectoral investigations conducted by the competition authority show that retail is not responsible for the rapid price increase of milk, dairy products, and eggs observed at the beginning of 2025, but rather supplier prices are to blame.

According to the trade association’s assessment, the GVH concluded that supplier prices rose mainly due to the increase in labor costs, rising utility expenses, and higher product fees. These impacts are present for all other food producers and processors as well.

The organization’s statement added that when examining the price of milk and dairy products, the GVH’s draft report also states that retail margins have significantly decreased since mid-2023, then stabilized below 20%, which reduced profitability in all product categories or made the sale of certain products loss-making even before the introduction of the margin cap.

According to the GVH’s findings, in the case of eggs, consumer prices mainly just followed the rise in supplier prices, the OKSZ added.

According to the trade association, the GVH’s investigation also points out that income distribution in the value chain has shifted toward producers and processors, while the margin cap has turned retailers’ operations into losses, which is difficult to sustain in the long term.

The OKSZ believes that this alone justifies the removal of the margin cap at the end of August, as the measure does not reduce inflationary pressure but merely hides it, the organization stated in its press release.

In response to the trade association’s statement, the Hungarian Competition Authority firmly rejected the idea that the OKSZ is attempting to use the authority’s unfinished draft reports for political lobbying.

The evaluation of the necessity of economic policy measures does not fall within the GVH’s jurisdiction, the authority added in its statement sent to MTI.

The competition authority’s accelerated sectoral investigations do not support the conclusions stated in the OKSZ’s press release. The GVH has not made and will not make any proposals to phase out the margin reduction, as it stands on the side of the Hungarian people, not the retailers.

– emphasized the competition authority.

In its statement, the GVH recalled that several competition supervision proceedings are currently underway against multinational retail companies for prohibited price fixing, unfair commercial practices, or misleading consumers.

“The margin reduction has demonstrably helped many of our fellow citizens by resulting in lower prices, which can also be tracked in the online Price Monitor operated by the GVH,” the GVH stated.