Effective Monday, the Hungarian government introduced a 10% price margin ceiling on 30 categories of essential food products, impacting goods frequently purchased by retirees and families.

The National Trade and Consumer Protection Authority (NKFH) announced immediate inspections to prevent unjustified price increases and ensure compliance with the new regulations.

Under the new rules, price margins must not exceed the average levels observed in January.

In cases where the margin exceeds 10%, businesses are required to reduce it below that threshold.

This regulatory measure could lead to an average price reduction of over 10% across the specified food categories, aimed at providing significant relief to the Hungarian population.

The NKFH is closely monitoring the pricing dynamics, particularly regarding basic food items, to ensure market fairness and protect consumers from exploitation.

The authority is coordinating with government offices to conduct thorough checks on compliance with regulations concerning price margins, maintaining inventory levels, and adherence to the proportionality of private label products.

Special attention will be directed to monitoring prices of essential food items, including dairy products and eggs, to maintain competitive pricing practices.

The inspections will focus on major commercial entities with significant market presence.

In conjunction with the March 17 implementation of the government decree aimed at reducing food prices, the NKFH will ensure that price margins do not exceed those applied in January 2025 and remain within the established 10% limit.

Additionally, the NKFH will enforce compliance with regulations governing the proportion of private label products and examine adherence to quantity requirements, mandating retailers to sell at least the average daily quantity sold in 2024.

Non-compliance with price margin regulations may result in fines of up to 5 million forints per product category, while violations of private label proportions and sale quantity regulations could incur fines of up to 2 million forints per category.

The authority has emphasized that violations can lead to multiple fines per day, which may increase the total penalty amounts.

The inspections are intended to ensure fair pricing practices among retailers and to prevent abuses of market position detrimental to consumers.

The NKFH is committed to protecting consumer interests and ensuring equitable pricing, working towards making essential food products more accessible for Hungarian families and pensioners, thereby safeguarding them against unfair price hikes.