Christmas is the last bite of the year at the tables and also at the cards and purses of the Spanish. However, according to the OCU price observatory, Christmas 2022 presents prices that have risen less than in 2021.
Only 2.4% have increased, according to the analysis of the consumer organization, the prices of certain regular protagonists of the Christmas Eve and Christmas menus such as lamb, sea bream, clams, Iberian ham or barnacles, among a dozen other products that the OCU has been analyzing since 2015 in various Spanish cities such as Albacete, Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Seville, Valencia, Valladolid and Zaragoza, .
However, not everything goes up and not everything goes up in the same way, according to the OCU, because the increase that they have appreciated since the end of November — at which point they started checking prices — so far it only proves that prices, overall, have only gone up 2.4%.
It is found, therefore, far from the 6% increase that was experienced in 2021 and that it was in the usual tonic of other annual increases that at this time shake the pocket of the Spaniards.
As is logical, it can be summed up in that the price rises due to inflation it has been so continuous during the rest of the year that, once placed in December, the margin for these prices to continue increasing were already close to certain ceilings.
Still, there is certain ingredients that drop more or less noticeably, among which the OCU cites pineapple, pomegranate and pularda, as well as prawns. In contrast, at a very similar price are the lamb, the round of veal, the sea bass or the eels.
On the opposite side of the scale, certain products do increase in price and do so significantly. In that sense, Christmassy fresh produce does raise the bill from our shopping cart.
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It happens with clams (19% more expensive than a month ago), sea bream (7% more expensive) or barnacles, which just 15 days later are 6% more expensive. Apart from fresh products, another of the flags of Christmas is Iberian ham It has also skyrocketed its price in just 15 daysfinding variations of up to 10%.
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