Food in March was an average of 4% more expensive than last year, STATEC reports. Since the global pandemic the markets were extremely deregulated, confirms a Luxembourgish wholesaler. "Such a massive explosion in food prices is really new to us", he said to RTL.

STATEC sends seven price investigators to different supermarkets in the country every month, who note down the prices of products that are tracked in the price index. The same products and brands from the same store are collected each time. Based on these values, prices can be compared with previous months or years.

In fact, STATEC states that, for example, the price of fish and seafood has risen by 9% in 12 months. Coffee, tea and cocoa increased by about 6.8% and in the category of fats and oils the price increased by almost 6.2%. Fresh meat also increased by 5.6% in one year.

Reasons for the increase in food supply include the higher energy costs. The Ukraine war has not yet played such a significant role in the sector, but the consequences of it could affect the price of cooking oils in a few months' time, as well as the price of what and grains in general. These also make up the basis of animal foods, which would then affect the price of animal products.

"Some farmers are producing less beef because it's not profitable anymore. Some stopped producing pork because their costs didn't make sense anymore," says Georges Eischen, the deputy director of a supermarket.

See the Luxembourgish video report: