Chio's revenue fell due to chips-tax

The 2011 revenue of market leading snack maker Chio Magyarország, a unit of Netherlands-based Intersnack International, fell 5% to 11. 6 billion HUF HUF because of the introduction of a tax on unhealthy food introduced last September, managing director Robert Merkler announced on Thursday.

The “chips tax” raised the prices of Chio products by 15-30%, Merkler added. The tax on Chio’s snack products rose from 200 HUF per kilogramme last year to 250 HUF from January 1, 2012. Chio expects its output volume to edge down 1-1.5% this year, but sees exports lifting revenue by 3%. Chio controls 22% of Hungary’s snack food market. Per capita consumption of snack food in Hungary is just 2.7kg a year, under the 3.4kg EU average.