The price of pork is expected to rise as manufacturer's expenses increased and will probably continue to do so, Tamás Éder, chairman of the Meat Association (Hússzövetség), told Hírszerző. At the beginning of the year, purchasers paid Ft 250 (€1) for one kilogram of pork, while they now pay Ft 300. Éder said the reason for this price hike is that the expenses were raised as a result of energy price hikes and higher wages. Addtionally, the price of raw materials (which amount to 50% to 70% of costs), has also rose, meaning price squeezes from all directions.

The chairman continued that the amount of raw materials will continue to decrease along with the number of sows. At the end of last year, there were between 260,000 to 270,000 sows in Hungary. Since the beginning of this year, the number of pigs kept in Hungary decreased from 3.8 million to 3.5 million, which mirrors the decrease in several other EU member states as well. Furthermore, consumption was down 5% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, according to companies belonging to the Meat Association.