Food inflation fell below another psychological limit

By: Trademagazin Date: 2023. 09. 08. 12:54

Food inflation in Hungary has fallen below another psychological limit, as the increase in the price of food decreased to less than 20 percent in August, the analysts of MBH Bank’s Agricultural and Food Business pointed out in response to the inflation data presented by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on Friday.

“The slowdown in inflation since January continued last month, and we are still heading towards a single-digit rate of inflation by the end of the year”

they emphasized. The introduction of the food price stops at the beginning of August had a minimal effect on the development of store prices, in which the price increase that took place in the pork market at the beginning of the year has now become visible.

Last month, an average shopping trip cost 19.5 percent more than in the same period in 2022. In July, the rate of food inflation was 23.1 percent year-on-year. On a month-by-month basis, however, the level of price increases increased, albeit only by 0.3 percent.

“This is mainly due to two factors”

– said Csaba Héjja, senior analyst of MBH Bank’s Agricultural and Food Business: “Although the introduction of food price stops had a minimal effect, the base price of the price-stop products became 15-20 percent higher in some cases from one month to the next”. In addition, the price level established at the beginning of the year on the pork market “has now reached the shops”.