January 19, 2023 - With Croatia's entry into the Schengen Area on the first day of the year 2023, came a few surprises, a few challenges, and a few benefits. The borders with the neighbouring EU states have been opened, which has made travel easier. Many Croatian people decided to use that and hop over to Slovenia, Italy, or Hungary to see if they could shop for groceries there at somewhat cheaper prices. Now, it seems, the neighbours have started discovering that when it comes to certain things it might be cheaper to shop for groceries in Croatia.
As Poslovni / Večernji List write, Hungarians have started coming to Croatia for groceries, paying almost half the price for some things.
After Hungary lifted the restrictions on prices, many Hungarian citizens living along the border started visiting Croatia to buy groceries at a better price. Inflation there is currently the highest in the EU, and citizens save up to 16 euros by buying fuel in Croatia. Oil currently costs EUR 1.39, sugar EUR 0.60... All these are confirmations that prices are going wild. So the journalists of the Hungarian ATV went to Croatia, where they compared the prices.
"In the supermarket we bought four yellow potatoes for 500 forints per kilogram, so it amounted to 220 forints, two onions for 529 forints per kilogram, which was about a hundred forints, and we bought a hot dog at a relatively reasonable price, with a meat content of 65% ", they reported, and the final bill was 913 forints, or 2.3 euros.
Upon arrival in Croatia, the situation changed significantly, journalists report. In the store, they could choose between five types of potatoes, and their prices were roughly the same - a kilogram for about 260 forints, or 0.65 euros. In addition, they also found hot dogs with 95 percent meat, so they chose that product. For the same products - four potatoes, two onions and hot dogs - they paid 529 forints, i.e. 1.33 euros.
According to journalists who visited Croatian shops, Croatians do not mind Hungarian shopping tourism. They also state that last year the government reduced VAT on basic foodstuffs, and the fact that they can now get to Croatia without border controls makes it even easier for Hungarians.
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