Retail food sales rose five per cent, reaching HUF 490 billion (approx €1.5 billion) during the period from last December to March of this year, market research company Nielsen has told Hungarian news agency MTI.
In volume terms, retail sales increased four per cent, while in value terms, sales of beer, carbonated soft drinks and fruit juices rose more than average.
The number of grocery stores operating in Hungary was down five per cent, to 17,729, in the 12 months leading up to January 2015, according to Nielsen.
Most store closures were in Budapest, Pest County and in western Hungary. Approximately 55 per cent of the country’s grocery stores are smaller than 50 sqare metres and roughly one-third are between 51 and 200 square metres.
Legislation, which came into effect in March, requires most retailers larger than 200 square metres to remain closed on Sundays. There are currently 19 grocers in Hungary for every 10,000 residents, well over the respective seven and five in Austria and Germany, Nielsen added.
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