In 67% of the cases, she said, the shops had complied with the regulations but failed to indicate the reduction in price, while in 28% at least one of the mandatory products was not available.

Fines levied for those offenses add up to 25 million forints (EUR 65,000), she added.

Thanks to the Competition Office’s online price-monitoring platform, prices in 54 categories out of 62 have been reduced by an average 6.7%, bringing the inflation of food product prices down by 1.8%, she added.

The recent price drops indicated that multinational supermarkets had been unjustifiably overpricing products in the recent period, she said, adding that the price-monitoring platform had drawn some 1.2 million visitors since its launch on July 1.

It will receive updates in the near future, including an expansion of the product categories based on user feedback, she said.

MTI photo: Zsolt Szigetváry