Fruit is 13% more expensive, but it wasn’t the only food to go up

Meat is getting more expensive, a basket of fruit costs about one euro more than in 2019, but vegetables have gotten a few cents cheaper during the pandemic.

According to the stories he gave TVI24 Based on the most recent CPI values ​​and using the example of a food basket designed for one person for a week, it is concluded that in August 2021 we paid another 1.40 euros in the box than we did in the same month in 2019.

The biggest rise in meat prices. If in 2019 we were allowed 9.99 euros to buy half a kilo of pork chops, an average pack of chicken fillets and 270 grams of beef, today that price rises to 10.54 euros.

For example, half a kilo of bifana currently costs 2.3 euros – according to an average based on the selling price to the public in four different supermarkets. Since the price of this product has increased by 5.32% since 2019, we know that before the pandemic, this food cost about 2.17 euros.

For Henrique Tomé, financial analyst at XTB, the reason is “rising raw material prices, which continue to fuel inflationary pressures”. However, he assumes that “price stability is expected in the coming years, as economies continue to open up and constraints continue to be overcome.”

The highlight is pork, which during 2020 recorded an increase of 97% (the majority of food products increased by 17.4% that year), largely due to the outbreak of swine fever that spread throughout the country.The Chinese mainland in January. Millions of animals died and the situation changed the demand of importers who tried to find a solution in Europe and the United States.

The economy was at a standstill for several months which caused restrictions on the production of various products. In addition, the increase in the prices of raw materials, such as agricultural products, should also be the cause of this rise in food prices,” the financial analyst specifies.

In the United States, the reality is notorious if we take into account bacon, which reached its highest value in 40 years. The average price of a bacon steak has increased 28% over the past 12 months, while ham slices have increased 7%, according to the US Consumer Price Index.

Another group of foods that also recorded a significant increase is fruit, which in August 2020 raised its price by more than 15%. Applying the same requirements, in 2019, if I take a kilo of apples, a kilo of bananas, 500 grams of white grapes and a kilogram of oranges in the cart, I will pay 6.17 euros. In 2020, this price increased to 7.28 euros, and a year later it decreased to 7.12 euros.

There is a less sharp rise in the receipt of purchases of bread and cereals. The average taken in four hypermarkets shows that the price of three balls of rye, two balls of wheat mix and three baguettes of wheat cost 2.17 euros. An increase of four cents since 2019 and one cent if we consider August 2020.

However, there are also products that have gone down (not by much) during the pandemic. If we take the selected basket as an example, the price of vegetables, eggs and dairy products has decreased by a few cents.

Example: Two balls of milk, a dozen eggs and a carton of Flemish cheese would cost, on average, 5.05 euros in 2019. In 2020, with a variance of minus 0.57%, the price was 5.02 euros, a cent more than in 2021.

In the vegetable department, lettuce, a kilo of tomatoes and potatoes, a can of spinach and a kilo of zucchini have a wallet effect, today, 6.19 euros. In 2020, the value was 6.21 euros and pre-pandemic 6.29 euros.

Over the past few months, there has been a lot of information that food prices are rising, and many experts view the pandemic as a justification. Indeed, production constraints and the limited supply of goods are well known, but it is important to understand how this context has affected portfolios.

Overall, it is possible to see how, from February 2020 to August 2021, there were 17 months in which food prices rose year-on-year, with a peak in June, the month in which the Consumer Price Index – which is used to monitor inflation trends In a certain group (or not) of goods – it reached 3.32%.

In Henrique Tomé’s opinion, the main variables that influenced the price of food items paid by the consumer are related to the fact that the economy has been producing “half gas” for about a year and a half. This has “aggravated the situation for products that continue to fear the future, because the epidemic is still far from under control.”

The constraints in the supply chains of some products also did not help, but rather contributed to the increase in prices. In addition to all this, the increase in agricultural prices means that producers have to pass on costs to final consumers, he explains, in an interview with TVI24.

However, even though Portugal is not one of the countries with the highest inflation rates in the Eurozone or compared to other economies such as North America, “generalized price growth is expected to begin to slow in the coming months.”

What about traditional Christmas foods? Can we expect an increase? “There is such a possibility,” Thomas says, although inflation is expected to start declining during the last quarter of this year.

Global food prices are at their highest in 10 years

The United Nations Food Agency said, on Thursday, that global food prices rose for the second month in a row, in September, to reach their highest levels in 10 years.

The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also forecast a world record production of cereals by 2021, but said projected consumption would exceed it.

The FAO Food Price Index, which measures international prices for the world’s most traded food, averaged 130.0 points last month, the highest reading since September 2011, according to agency data.

In an annual comparison, prices rose 32.8% in September.

Along the same lines, agricultural commodity prices rose sharply last year, an increase affected by setbacks in production and demand from China.

The FAO Cereal Price Index rose 2.0% in September from the previous month, with an increase of nearly 4% in wheat prices.

Global vegetable oil prices also rose by 1.7%, showing an annual increase of about 60% and influenced by global concerns about labor shortages in Malaysia.

Moreover, global sugar prices rose 0.5% in September, due to concerns about bad weather for sugarcane in the main source, Brazil. However, it was partially offset by favorable production prospects in India and Thailand, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.