Supermarkets and rising prices

“Apparent moderation” in the supermarket chain price index in April was noted by the Consumer Goods Retail Research Institute (IELKA).

The indicator was 1.10% year on year (versus 0.28% in March, 2.70% in February and 3.00% in January 2024).

The change is mainly due to the influence of “seasonality” due to Easter, a period during which numerous promotions are recorded during Holy Week, which in 2023 fell in mid-April and in 2024 in the first week of May. The largest increase in prices was noted in the food category.

Let us recall that according to the data ELSTAT The food and non-alcoholic beverage price index increased to 5.4% year-on-year from 5.3% in March, while month-on-month (compared to March) remained unchanged. The largest year-on-year increases in food products, according to ELSTAT, came from:

• olive oil (63.7%),
• fruits (11.6%),
• fish (10.6%),
• rice (8.5%),
• mineral water, soft drinks and juices – 12.5%.

Larger price reductions were recorded by IELKA in the following categories:

• Baby food: 4.57%
• Stationery, diapers and wipes: 2.99%
• Detergents and cleaning products: 2.71%
• Butter and eggs: 2.34%
• Dairy products: 1.93%.

In dairy products, the recorded decrease is the result of both the normalization of the market after the pandemic and a decrease in producer prices for some products. In addition, products such as butter and eggs benefited from Easter promotions.

More significant growth was recorded in the following categories:

• Water and soft drinks: 12.26%
• Cookies, chocolate, candies: 7.80%
• Alcoholic drinks: 7.68%
• Ready meals: 5.14%
• Nuts and snacks: 4.51%.

For most of these products influenced by international prices for raw materials and especially the prices sugar and cocoa. It is noted that in the grocery category, which includes olive oil, an increase of 4.29% was recorded. And for fresh fruits and vegetables, prices are rising as a result of increasing production costs, extreme climatic events and world prices for raw materials (up to 2.9%).

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