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STORY: These are Hungary's traditional hairy 'mangalica' pigs - prized for their meat.

Their breeders are struggling to stay in business - after a punishing combination of drought and inflation.

Feed prices have nearly doubled from 2021.

The cost of energy - and medical care for the animals have skyrocketed too.

Lajos Kander’s family rears more than 2,000 pigs in the east.

He’s hiked prices by as much as 25% but doesn’t think customers can bear much more than that.

“Businesses will have to swallow some of these costs to be able to bridge this situation,” he says.

Kander isn’t alone, and others simply won’t survive, according to the head of the country’s breeding association.

It’s just one example in a country where food prices spiked more than 45% in October compared to a year ago.

That’s according to Eurostat data.

Food prices are the main driver of inflation in Hungary and surging prices mean families are buying less.

The cost of meat and fish is up more than 34% year-on-year.

That means 75-year-old Eva Racz can't buy the carp she wanted for the holidays, she has medicine and utilities to think about first.

"There are some people for whom Christmas will be nice, and for some, if I am frank, it will not be,” she says

Hungary is among 10 countries in the east of the European Union facing food price inflation beyond 20%.

And there’s no sign inflation is slowing down yet.

Thursday’s data is expected to show it accelerating to more than 22% in November.

Hungary’s national bank governor said on Monday inflation would average up to 18% next year, with food accounting for more than 50% of further rises.