Hungarian consumers are being discriminated against, as in the case of many goods dual quality can be established, and manufacturers do not sell the better, higher quality items of a product range in Hungary, the EP group of Fidesz pointed out in a statement.
The single market has become a two-tier market, Fidesz MEP Edina Toth pointed out, noting that the champions of equality in Brussels have repeatedly stressed that every EU citizen should feel that they are treated like everyone else and that everyone should receive fair and clear information about the products they purchase, she said.
However, this has not been the case to date: it has been proven that some citizens have become second-rate consumers, with access to lower quality food and household products,
the MEP underlined.
As Magyar Nemzet reported in earlier article, the issue of dual quality has been on the agenda for a long time. According to the Association of Conscious Consumers (Tudatos Vasarlok Egyesulete), every consumer could enumerate several products that they have heard of as being of lower quality than the products sold in Western Europe, with the most frequently mentioned products being washing powder, fabric softener, detergent, cosmetics, peanut butter, and non-perishable foods.
It is worth recalling that, following a decision by the agriculture ministry, the National Food Chain Safety Office (Nebih) tested several product pairs in the first half of 2017, assessing whether or not the phenomenon of dual quality exists, whereby international producers sell food products of different quality under the same brand name in the Hungarian and Western European markets.
In addition to the testing, a survey was conducted among the population to find out what Hungarians think and expect regarding the issue. Findings revealed that
every other consumer in Hungary has experienced a difference in the quality of food products sold under the same brand name in Hungary and in Western Europe,
mostly between sweets, dairy products and soft drinks.
The government's committed efforts to tackle dual quality are based on the findings Nebih reached in its survey, showing that Hungarians have unfavorable experience as they typically believe that 97 per cent of the products sold in Hungary are inferior in quality compared to goods sold in Western Europe.
