An analysis by DECO Proteste of the followed values ​​reveals that the price of a basic food basket “costs €207.80 this week, €24.17 more than the price of February 23”, but €1.21 lower than the previous month. week.

Between February 23 and September 21, meat increased by 17.82% (€5.75 more), with the cost of pork chop increasing by 25% today, an increase of €1.11.

As for fish, the Consumer Protection Association reports that it is currently 14.97% more expensive than it was before the Russian war against Ukraine, since its cost has increased by 9.03 euros.

The Consumer Protection Association monitors prices for a basket of 63 basic food products each week that includes items such as turkey, chicken, hake, mackerel, onions, potatoes, carrots, bananas, apples, oranges, rice, pasta, and sugar. ., ham, milk, cheese and butter.

This week, between September 14 and 21, the 10 products with the highest price increases were zucchini (up 10%), spiral pasta (8% increase), and cereal (7% increase), plus 6 %), and Flemish cheese. (plus 5%), maria biscuits (plus 5%), orange (plus 5%), cake flour (plus 5%), tomato pulp (plus 5%) and horse mackerel (4% more).

Looking at the period since February 23 this year, DECO Proteste reveals that all food product categories have registered price increases, with meat (17.82% more) and fish (14.97% more) standing out the most. However, there were also increases in fruits and vegetables (up 14.65%), groceries (up 10.23%), dairy (up 11.15%) and frozen foods (up 2.48%).

In addition, the 10 products that saw their most price hikes between February 23 and September 21 were broccoli (up 55%), kale (up 49%), whole chicken (up 33%), fresh hake (30% more) and cake. Flour (30% more), turkey steak (28% more), Maria biscuits (27% more), pork chops (25% more), 100% vegetable cooking oil (plus 24%) and tomato pulp (plus 23%). ) .

This increase is explained by the fact that Portugal “relies heavily on foreign markets to ensure the supply of grain for internal consumption”, which currently accounts for “only 3.5% of the national agricultural production, especially maize (56%), wheat (19%) and rice (16%). )”.

“And if in the early 1990s grain self-sufficiency was about 50%, currently the value does not exceed 19.4%, which is one of the lowest in the world and which forces the country to import about 80% of the grain it consumes”, notes DECO.

The organization explains that “the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where a large part of the grain consumed in the European Union, and in Portugal comes from, has consequently put more pressure on a sector grappling for months with the consequences of the epidemic and a drought that has a strong impact on production and stock formation.”

“Reducing the supply of raw materials and increasing production costs, that is, the energy needed to produce agricultural food, may, therefore, be reflected in an increase in prices on international markets, and therefore in prices at the consumer,” he asserts.

In addition, he noted that “successive increases in consumer prices, specifically in products such as fuel and food, contribute to an increase in the rate of inflation.”