Retail sales decreased by 5 percent

In the view of the traders, the increase of VAT rate and excise taxes even more decreases public consumption – stated Feiner Péter, President of the National Trade Association (OKSZ) on the most recent event of the association.

According to Feiner Péter, the datas of the Central Statistical Office shows that the hedge-hopping of the consumption has already begun: in the first quarter of 2009 the retail expenditure of the households decreased by 7.3 percent compared to the same period the previous year.
The retail sales volume, however, decreased by 5 percent in a single year, including a 4 percent decrease of food products and a 7 percent decrease in the case of  industrial products.
According to the datas of ECOSTAT beside the decrease of  the gross domestic product this year, a 6.5 percent drop is expected in household consumption, which is similar to the 6 percent reduction in the volume of retail sales – reports Világgazdaság Online.