Hungary Set to Phase Out Price Caps As Inflation Falls

  • 3 Apr 2023 5:50 AM
  • Hungary Matters
Hungary Set to Phase Out Price Caps As Inflation Falls
The government will phase out the current price caps simultaneously with a decrease in the inflation of food prices, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told public radio.

The caps have helped reduce inflation but they were an “artificial intervention” in the operation of the market, and had “side effects”, he added.

“That is why it is good if the caps disappear from the system and the market returns to its regular operations,” he said. As long as inflation is high, the caps cannot be removed, he added.

Orbán suggested that similarly to the food price caps, the caps on bank loans could also be removed.

Concerning bank loans, he added that “we introduced all kinds of protective mechanisms but those could even cause problems in normal times”. The prime minister added, however, that the caps on household utility prices would be maintained.

“When inflation drops under a certain level, measures introduced to rein in high inflation could be removed in a timely manner,” Orbán said. He noted that the government’s target was to get inflation down to single digits by the end of this year.

Retailers and food chains are already competing with each other on who can offer lower prices on various products, he added.

  • How does this content make you feel?

XpatLoop Media Partner

Hungary Matters

Launched in January 2014, this newsletter published on week days covers 'everything you need to know about what’s going on in Hungary and beyond', according to its publisher the state media agency MTI.

Explore More Reports

  • Aldi Has Big Plans in Hungary

    Aldi Has Big Plans in Hungary

    • 8 Aug 2023 1:32 PM

    Aldi made a big step in the ranking of Hungarian retail chains last year and managed to lure many customers away from other discounters besides hypermarkets and supermarkets, portfolio.hu financial portal reports.

  • Egg Prices in Hungary Decrease Dramatically Over 24 Hours

    Egg Prices in Hungary Decrease Dramatically Over 24 Hours

    • 2 Aug 2023 8:56 AM

    According to the data of the online price monitoring system, the lowest price for eggs per piece in packs of 10 was 63 forints (EUR 0.16) on July 31, but by August 1 it had fallen to 45 forints (EUR 0.11), the Hungarian Competition Authority told Index.