The wheel has turned: Hungarians are turning to their neighbors for cheap refills

Fuel prices have exploded in Hungary after the government lifted ceilings on traders who had already brought them in. Shortage of petrol and dieselThe Hungarian press writes.

Fuel prices explode after Hungary raises ceilings

Hungarians are desperate for cheap fuel. They attack Croatian gas stations, while the Poles feel cheated by a much larger gas station that did not increase prices, write Index.hu and Daily News Hungary, as quoted by Mediafax.

In Hungary, after the government removed price ceilings, petrol and diesel became so expensive that Hungarians now go to neighboring countries to fill up their cars.

Croatia, now a member of the eurozone, is an example, ZF writes. AFP. In Poland, state-owned oil and gas giant PKN Orlen, which has more gas stations, did not raise fuel prices after the government restored the normal VAT of 23%, which rose to 8% as of January 1. Corruption.

Poles feel cheated because they have been paying artificially inflated prices until now. Various analysts and politicians talk about monopoly and cartel practices internationally. And, newspapers write, fuel prices will continue to rise.

Hungarians return from Croatia with canisters filled with petrol or diesel

Hungarians now have the most expensive fuel in the region, which is why people living near the borders are running to their neighbors to fill up their car tanks. They take a public TV channel from Croatia and return home with canisters and other containers full of gasoline or diesel, writes Daily News Hungary.

It is reminiscent of the situation when Romanians and other neighboring countries of Hungary ran to Hungarian gas stations to buy gas. To take advantage of the limited prices there. Response of the Hungarian Government Foreign nationals should be banned from buying cheap fuel. The ceiling was raised early last month to encourage imports leading to shortages of petrol and diesel.

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Hungarians have the most expensive fuel in the region

Index.hu reviewed prices at neighboring gas stations – in Romania, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine – and found that Hungarians pay the most in the region.

Index.hu reviewed gas station prices in its neighboring countries – Romania, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine – and found that Hungarians pay the highest in the region. Ukrainians pay very little. In Ukraine, a liter of Euro 95 petrol costs 1.34 Euros. In Hungary, the same product costs almost 1.6 euros. A Hungarian driver told Croatian TV that he had saved 50 euros since filling up in Croatia.

But Hungarians go to their neighbors not only to buy fuel, but also to shop in supermarkets. They mostly buy vegetables, meat and items for daily use like toilet paper and toilet deodorizer. All this is much cheaper in Croatia than in Hungary.

Hungarians like Croatia because the country recently entered the Schengen area. Croatian journalists also crossed the border into Hungary and found that only beer, some soft drinks, sausages and clothes were worth buying.

How Warsaw kept prices under control

In Poland, the government is not a fan of price caps, choosing to protect consumers from inflation mainly through tax cuts.

Last year, VAT on fuel was cut from 23% to 8%, part of what Warsaw calls an anti-inflation shield. On January 1, 2023, the VAT was brought back to 23%, despite this, Radio Rzeszow writes that fuel prices have not increased as manufacturer and retailer PKN Orlen has cut wholesale prices by 12%.

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