Food prices in Europe: Where are grocery costs rising fastest?
Food price rises in Europe have been modest this year, but fresh produce is getting pricier, with prices up 8% in France and supply disruptions leaving shelves empty in southern Italy.
Reports reveal grocery costs are surging fastest in southern Italy, where lorry drivers blocked roads and ports in late October over high diesel prices. This caused warehouses to halt loading, leaving shelves of meat, fresh milk, fruit, and bottled water near empty in some shops. Italy's unprocessed food prices rose 7.5% in October compared to a year ago, up from 5.5% in September, according to Istat data.
Across Europe, energy prices drove the inflation surge, making up 20.8% of the rise in October. Food prices, however, have grown more modestly. In the eurozone, food and soft drinks were 1.6% pricier than a year earlier, while overall inflation reached 4%, the highest in over three years.
Food prices vary significantly across countries. Cyprus saw the steepest increase at 4%, while Spain, Romania, Malta, and Portugal saw more moderate rises. In contrast, Sweden experienced a 6.3% drop in food prices, following a VAT cut that halved the tax from 12% to 6% in April 2024. Latvia, Hungary, and Czechia also saw food prices fall by 3.8% to 4.8%.
Eastern Europe has borne the brunt of the price increases, with Hungary experiencing a more than 50% rise in food costs since September 2021. Bulgaria, Estonia, and Romania saw increases of around 50%, while Luxembourg, Sweden, and France saw only a quarter increase. These countries spend a larger portion of their household budget on food, making the recent price hikes more impactful on their budgets.
Written by urgent.news from Euronews's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
