Europe is facing huge food price hikes, even higher than the United States, according to a New York Times analysis. Sugar, milk and eggs have become luxury goods, although the main production costs have fallen massively in international markets.
In Great Britain, a slice of white bread costs around 8 lei, almost 30 percent more than last year. In Italy, pasta has risen in price by 17 percent in one year, Germans pay almost 40 percent more for cheese, and potatoes cost 17 percent more.
If we look at the foods that have risen in price the most in our country, sugar is in first place, with almost 60 percent. According to the INS, butter, potatoes, eggs, milk and bread are next in the price list.
At the level of the European Union, the increase in food is, on average, almost 17% in the last year. At the same time, the costs of manufacturing these products, which include fuel, wheat or other agricultural commodities, have fallen by as much as 40 percent on international markets, but, nevertheless, shelf prices remain high in Europe, write journalists from New York Times.
In the same analysis, it is shown that it is unlikely that we will see price reductions in the next period, and this is because labor costs have increased, but the possibility of raising the profit margin should not be ignored either. When asked, most consumers, unions and some economists believe inflation remains unreasonably high. Companies are being fingered for raising prices above production costs to protect profit margins. We expect, therefore, that towards the end of the year, the rate of growth will slow down, without seeing significant decreases, both in Europe and in Romania. In March, in our country, inflation fell to 14.5%, and by the end of the year it would drop to 7%, according to the BNR forecast.
