Prices of flour, cereals, pasta, and couscous rose by almost 18% in the last twelve months, the same goes for whole milk, which went up by 16%. Poultry and pork prices increased by almost 14% as livestock is fed on grain, which has become scarce and expensive due to the war in Ukraine.
Read also: STATEC’s report for October 2022 on grocery prices
In the case of beef, however, the 12.5% price increase has another reason, explains Georges Eischen, president of the Luxembourg Federation of Alimentation and Distribution (FLAD): “Herds were reduced in numbers during the pandemic, so there is a certain shortage of beef on the market. And it takes two years to rebuild those herd numbers.”
Vegetable oil and sunflower oil in particular increased by 41% in one year. But, prices are now falling once again. The same applies to margarine, up by 24%, and butter, up by 18%.
“Overall, food prices rose by 11% in one year, which is really substantial. This is also a very strong increase in historic terms,” emphasises Marc Ferring from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (STATEC). In recent months, it were mainly bread and dairy products that rose sharply. Olive oil, sugar, and vegetables are expected to follow suit in the near future.
For olive oil, a sharp increase is expected in coming months due to modest harvests caused by droughts. The price of sugar will soar “by more than 100%", says Eischen, another drought-related uptick.
Energy prices play a similarly influential role. Tomatoes, courgettes, and peppers are thus at risk of becoming rarer and therefore more expensive at the beginning of 2023, as many greenhouse crops in northern Europe are threatened by the explosion of gas prices.
