The price of food rose 2% last February. Consolidated in an upward trend of the CPI, the reality is that, for Spaniards, filling the pantry in March 2023 is 16.6% more expensive than a year ago
Furthermore, it is not just a matter of the CPI being in the highest level since 1994when the interannual rate began to be measured, but is also much higher than the general index or inflation itself.
In the first case, only 6% remains, while the inflation stands at 7.6% per year. A blow to the households that the OCU has faced, explaining which are the products that have seen how the year-on-year rise has run away.
In total, the organization of consumers and users quantifies in 924 euros more per year for filling the same shopping basket as in 2022. A reality that is also becoming more bleeding due to the price of energy, making paying bills at home an odyssey to which, to make life even more painful crossing, adds an increase in interest rates that have raised mortgages that are measured through the Euribor.
The problem has also led consumers to change the way they shop. The OCU itself explained it in a survey last December. More products on sale, more white brands and, above all, more purchases in low cost supermarkets They have become the new footholds of the Spaniards.
However, this trend has also seen how we modified some patterns. This is the example of the reduction in the purchase of fresh products such as meat and fish (32% less) or fruit and vegetables (18% less), which reflects this change.
In this way, the OCU has focused on certain products considered staple foods, which were also subject to tax reductions by the government through the reduction of VAT. However, political intent has not stopped the scale.
Thus we find year-on-year rises that soar in cases such as sugar (52.1%), butter (39.1%), olive oil (33.5%), whole milk (33.2%) or skimmed (33.1%). Not far behind are bakery products (28.3%), eggs (28%), sunflower oil (27.3%), flour (26.2%), fresh or refrigerated legumes and vegetables (23 .6%). Nor did other daily items drop below a 20% increase, such as yogurt (21.4%), rice (21.2%) or potatoes (21%).
Already below this rise we find other daily items in the shopping cart such as cheese (19.8%), poultry, pork and beef (around 14%) and bread (13.2%), which also make dent in the pocket of the Spanish.
Images | Image from Freepik
In DAP | The Government launches a 200-euro check for vulnerable families and eliminates VAT on these staple foods
In DAP | Six tricks to save at the supermarket and survive inflation
