On a winding trajectory

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2024/10

Attila Forgó
senior key account
manager
Hungerit

 “With few exceptions, finished product prices have fallen by double-digit percentages over the past 12 months. This is particularly true for meat duck, our focus category”,

says Attila Forgó, senior key account manager of Hungerit Zrt.

He points out that in most poultry categories the prices of raw materials have stabilised at a high level and have reduced significantly less than finished product prices.

Ingredient prices have stabilized at a high level and have fallen significantly less than prices of finished products

The market needs to sort itself out

Levente Iványi
general director
Pro-Duck

Real competition is slowly returning to the retail market, reckons Levente Iványi, general director of Pro-Duck Kft. The government’s price freeze has upset this competition, because all products – regardless of quality – had to reach the end consumer at the same price. Beáta

Beáta Bukovenszki
head of domestic sales
Gallicoop

Bukovenszki, head of domestic sales at Gallicoop Zrt. :

“Sales-wise the forecast for 2024 suggests that demand will shift towards cheaper products, especially private label goods, while premium categories may be pushed into the background”.

Attila Lippai, commercial director of Master Good Kft.:

Attila Lippai
commercial director
Master Good

“At the moment domestic demand is a little behind export markets, but chicken meat remains a ‘pull product’. The consumer price of breast fillet has risen somewhat, but hasn’t yet reached its final price level. At the moment, both processors and supermarkets are selling the product with a loss. In recent years, consumers have become accustomed to an artificially low price level, from which it will be difficult to move away, as it is easy to get used to what is good. Unfortunately, this has to happen because the market has to sort itself out”.

Import versus domestic

Much depends on curbing the flow of products of uncertain origin and quality from outside the European Union.

“We are trying to convince retailers and consumers that it isn’t worth replacing the stable, high-quality domestic supply with products of less controlled quality, such as Brazilian chicken or Ukrainian feed”,

explains Levente Iványi, adding that

“these products come from a completely different economic environment, have to meet much lower quality and consumer safety standards, and can therefore be cheaper. We believe that stable quality combined with reasonable and predictable prices can benefit all market players, including consumers”.

GALLICOOP Zrt.’s strategic objectives include cost efficiency and developing higher added value products. They see great potential in turkey: this meat type has always had great traditions in Hungary and represents a long-term global growth opportunity for the sector. Recently the company’s innovation work has been focusing on quick-to-prepare seasoned and breaded products that satisfy consumer convenience needs and meet market expectations.

In the past few years, consumers have become accustomed to an artificially low price level, from which it will be difficult to move away, as good things are easy to get used to