Food price hike takes off in Hungary

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 01. 17. 12:01

The chart shared on the Vakmajom Facebook page highlights that Hungarian food prices have been continuously above the European Union average since 2020. While we already exceeded the EU level at the beginning of the pandemic, in 2022 the rate of price increases dramatically separated our country from the community average and has been rising sharply ever since.

The data from the end of 2024 paint a particularly worrying picture: while EU food prices are almost stagnant, another wave of price increases has begun in Hungary. According to Eurostat data, the increase in domestic food prices is more than double the European average, which is a serious burden on household budgets. According to the Vakmajom page’s assessment, the phenomenon is due to the government’s large budget deficit and taxation through inflation, which is exacerbated by wasteful management.

The processes are also supported by the Privátbankár Price Basket Survey. The initiative has been monitoring prices in Hungarian stores for 18 years, and in the first month of this year, another historic high was recorded at the checkouts. This continuous price increase is a serious burden on the livelihoods of lower-income households and pensioners in particular.