Another wave of food price increases could come due to EPR fees

According to the National Trade Association (OKSZ), the latest fee increase particularly affects glass products and vegetable oils, and since the competent minister can modify the items at any time without prior consultation, in the future further increases cannot be ruled out.

Food producers and processors have been struggling with continuous cost increases, and in many cases the trade could no longer refuse supplier price increases if it wanted to ensure the availability of goods. “For the cheapest cooking oils, the 72 percent EPR fee increase means an additional cost of 25–30 forints per bottle. This is reflected in the total purchase price, so the trade cannot prevent the passing on of the cost,” said Tamás Kozák, Secretary General of the OKSZ.

The professional organization reminded that the fee increase in 2023, which increased the price of several packaging materials by seven to ten times, had already significantly contributed to the increase in food prices. According to the Hungarian Competition Authority’s investigations, the effect of EPR fees was also detectable in the milk, dairy products and egg markets. The bulk of the inflation is caused by the addition of such seemingly small cost items – warns the OKSZ.

According to the organization, instead of burdening the sector with new fee increases, the government should rather improve the efficiency of MOHU, which operates under the waste management concession law, and involve all actors in the food chain in a comprehensive examination of pricing factors. “This is the only way to avoid consumers paying the price of regulatory decisions again and again,” added Kozák.