Food miles on the shelves: the share of local food products in the Hungarian retail sector

Share of national food products in retail is a frequent subject of policy debates. Local food is often associated with national security, sustainability, and support of local economy, contributing to value-added production, employment, rural development, and preservation of local food culture. Despite its importance, relevant academic literature about the proportion of national food in retail is basically non-existent. This paper presents a unique study that fills this gap and gives an account of the proportion of the main national food products in the Hungarian retail sector. The study presents a comprehensive picture of the food supply situation of the 10 largest retail chains in Hungary in the second half of 2020 for 16 key product categories (representing 67 of total food sales in value in the country), based on the experience of research that covered the physical examination of nearly 40 thousand individual food products. The study found that 70.85 of the analysed food products were supplied by domestic companies. Proportion of national products was higher for fresh food (meat, milk, perishable meat and milk products, eggs, fruits, and vegetables) and honey, while imports were dominant in higher value-added categories. Domestic chains had 15.37 points more local products in stock than international ones. The exact results can be used for benchmarking between companies and sectors, indicating comparative advantages and disadvantages, and provide solid basis for economic development plans.