Hungarian food industry groups demand removal of price caps

Various professional interest groups representing Hungarian food producers and distributors are calling on the government to immediately lift the current price cap on food products. The Association of Responsible Food Producers, along with several other industry bodies, stated that the measure is no longer necessary as food inflation has shown a favorable trend for several months.

According to data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office and analyses from the Hungarian National Bank, consumer prices for food have been steadily decreasing compared to the same periods in previous years. Specifically, compared to August 2025, food prices decreased by 1.4 percent, and excluding catering services, they fell by 4.8 percent.

The industry groups argue that maintaining the price cap distorts free market processes and prevents real costs from being reflected in consumer prices. They claim this negatively impacts suppliers, harms Hungarian producers and processors, and damages the entire agricultural and food economy by incentivizing retailers to favor foreign-made products over domestic ones.