HUNGARY: Prices of bread could increase by fall | Progresiv
Prices of bread could increase by fall due to labor shortages, the Hungarian Bakers Association announced, according to the local daily Népszabadság. “Hungarian bakeries lack approximately 2,000-3,000 workers around the country”, József Septe, President of the Association, told the paper, adding that “if wages cannot be raised in the sector which employs 23,000 people, more will leave their jobs”. However, he added, “wages cannot be raised without raising prices since the last few years have seen frequent increases in the minimum wage as well as in energy prices”. Septe added that changes in the sector were now greatly dependent on how far the government would be willing to support it. 
Supplementary, the poor quality of Hungary’s near-record wheat harvest this year could put pressure on the price of bakery products, daily Népszava said earlier this month. Farm economist György Raskó told the paper that only one-third of this year’s crop is of milling quality, the lowest ratio in a long time. Hungary’s bakery industry has been pressing the government for years to lower the VAT rate on their products from 18 percent to 5 percent. Bakers’ margins now stand at just 0-2 percent, making capital expenditures impossible. (www.bbj.hu)
