Hungary making progress toward free market

This paper reports that the Hungarian government made major progress in reorienting the energy sector toward a market economy in 1991. A study conducted by the International Energy Agency the progress was particularly evident in price reform and restructuring of the Hungarian energy industry. The pace of change has accelerated. Effective with fourth quarter 1991 through 1992 all the main energy enterprises will begin operating under new structures. Assuming that liberalized energy prices are set by suppliers to cover their costs and local governments do not subsidize district heating prices, all energy prices are to be at least at their economic cost level by mid-1992, IEA the. Some prices will be above this level because of sales taxes on gasoline and diesel and taxes on all imported energy. Hungary depends on imports for about half of its primary energy supply. Because domestic production has peaked, the share of imports will rise if consumption, after a likely further decline in the short term, returns to an upward trend