Food prices in Bulgaria have risen by just over 50% since September 2021. The country is in the same group as Estonia and Romania, while in Luxembourg, Sweden and France the cumulative increase is around 25%. The largest increase has been recorded in Hungary, where prices have risen by more than 50%.
This is shown by an analysis of European price trends based on data from Eurostat and national statistical offices. The cumulative increase weighs more heavily on households in Eastern Europe, where food accounts for a larger share of family expenditure.
Cyprus records the highest increase in September
In September, food and non-alcoholic beverages in the European Union were on average 0.6% more expensive than a year earlier. Cyprus recorded the largest annual increase - 4%, followed by Spain with 2.7%, Romania with 2.6%, Malta with 2.5% and Portugal with 2.4%.
In 14 of the 27 member states, prices were lower than in September of the previous year. The largest decline was recorded in Sweden - 6.3%. On April 1, the country halved VAT on food, from 12% to 6%, with the measure scheduled to remain in effect until the end of 2027. Declines of between 3.8% and 4.8% were also recorded in Latvia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Fresh products are once again becoming more expensive faster
In the eurozone, prices of food, alcohol and tobacco products increased by 1.6% in October compared with the same month of the previous year. For processed food, alcohol and tobacco products, the increase was 0.5%, while unprocessed products - fruit, vegetables, meat and fish - became 4.6% more expensive.
In France, the overall increase in food prices was 1.2%, but fresh products were 8% more expensive year-on-year. In Germany, food prices rose by 0.4%, while in Portugal unprocessed products increased by 3.7%.
Italy is among the examples of accelerating price increases. According to preliminary data from the National Institute of Statistics ISTAT, unprocessed foods were 7.5% more expensive in October than in October of the previous year, compared with 5.5% in September.
Energy continues to fuel price pressures
Overall inflation in the eurozone reached 4% in October - its highest level in more than three years. Energy prices increased by 20.8% over the year, affecting the production, heating and transport of food.
“Energy and food are driving the increase in prices, while core inflation remains relatively stable despite the ongoing energy shock,” commented Nicola Nobile, chief economist for Italy at Oxford Economics.
Economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics expect eurozone inflation to reach a peak of 4.5% in January. The European Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates in December.
Sources: business.dir.bg, euronews.com