No fruit, ham a luxury: Hungary food prices spike most in EU

By JUSTIN SPIKE
Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Food prices have risen dramatically across Europe in recent months, but Hungary has seen the biggest spike. That’s hitting consumers hard, forcing them to change what kind of food they buy and how much of it they can afford. Businesses also are rethinking what they sell as food prices in Hungary have surged more than 45% over the year. In the European Union, those costs have jumped 19.6%. An ING Hungary economist says the country’s “extreme inflation” can be traced to inefficiencies in farming and food processing and a historic devaluation of the currency. That’s made the surge in food prices worse than in other European economies also facing a cost-of-living crisis fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine.