An online price monitoring system will launch on 1 July. In March 2023, a joint working group involving the Ministry of Economic Development, the Competition Authority (GVH), the Ministry of Agriculture, the Central Statistical Office (KSH), the Ministry of Justice and the Consumer Protection Authority was set up to work out the modalities of the price monitoring system.
The implementation is mandatory for the largest retail chains, as traders with a net turnover of over HUF 100 billion (EUR 270 million) are obliged to submit data to the price monitoring system.
The government has already adopted 20 measures to curb inflation. The measures are having an effect, as consumer prices rised by “only” 24% in April compared to 25.7% in January and 25.2% in March. Compared to March, consumer prices increased by 0.7% on average. Core inflation fell from 25.6% to 24.7% within a year.
The government also ordered weekly retail discount promotions from 1 June to 30 September. To spare smaller retailers, the sales threshold was raised from the original HUF 500 million (EUR 1.3 million) to HUF 1 billion (EUR 2.7 million), which also had to be reached in 2021. The respective promotions are compulsorily valid for 168 hours. Special offers are not relevant because of the expiry date.