EU sues Hungary over food price cap on foreign retailers

BRUSSELS, July 8 (Reuters) - The European Commission has launched a case against Hungary at the EU Court of Justice, to have it scrap a limit set on retail price margins on food products and drugstore articles levied mostly on non-Hungarian retailers.

Hungary last year already said it was ready to challenge Brussels on the issue, a 10% limit on retail margins for 30 food staples introduced in March 2025 to battle inflation.

Since then, the government has repeatedly extended the duration and expanded the range of products that fall under the measures, which were made permanent in May.

"Hungary wrongly claims that the difference between the sourcing price and the sales price equals the profit of the companies concerned, without taking into consideration that they also have substantial additional costs, such as for personnel, real estate and taxes," the EU Commission said.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer, editing by Inti Landauro)