Those who were not taken away by covid will be taken away by the heart attack because of the prices - remarked an acquaintance of mine with a slight smile.

Indeed, the price increase experienced nowadays is really frustrating, if only because there is no reason for it to be at this level. One has the feeling that the manufacturers raise the prices to their liking, referring to the war, the exchange rate, and inflation, and of course the shopkeepers also put a lot of money on it. Because - as you can read - according to the latest data from the KSH, the prices of staple foods have increased extremely, according to its representative database containing the prices of more than 900 products, they rose by more than 40 percent in May 2022 on an annual basis.

Inflation in May this year was 10.7 percent, within which the price of food - which most people feel - rose by 18.6 percent. Let's add that one has the feeling that this is much more than what we experience during an average shopping trip

But let's not do the math any further, because everyone could give an example where a product has more than doubled. Let's say absolute Hungarian yogurt rose from HUF 79 in February to HUF 160-170 in June. Why? Of course, energy prices and wage increases are understandable, but if we add HUF 20 per piece to a small glass of yogurt in a gentlemanly way, we are still a long way from the current price. Just listen to customer comments in a grocery store. They pick up a piece of cheese, look at its price, and then put it back, muttering that the goods should rot.

Surely, more and more people are returning the product because of the price that removes the fuse, which will slowly have its consequences, because you don't have to be an economist to know that people will buy less, many products will not be bought. Thus, consumption falls, along with production, fewer people are needed, layoffs come, and then the whining. They will scold the government and wait for the state to support them, because otherwise they will be ruined.

All of this could be avoided if they did not see inflation as free prey and did a little math. I saw an example the other day, which is very simple, you just have to take it into account. Nowadays, a bouquet of roses costs HUF 800 in the flower shop. The shopkeeper, on the other hand, buys it at the wholesale market for HUF 300. He complains that the business is not going well, he cannot sell more than 4-5 threads a day. There are places where a bunch of roses costs HUF 450-500 and at least 20 bunches are sold every day. From there, you just have to multiply.

And those who are unable to do so, let the goods really rot.