Slower fall in food prices |
22/02/2024 |
October and November 2023 showed falling prices of dairy, eggs, beef and poultry meat by 1%; the price of potatoes fell by 5% and the price of bread remained the same. The prices of fruit, pork and vegetables rose by 1, 3 and 11% respectively. There is a seasonal effect for vegetables: they become more expensive from the summer onwards. Although prices have fallen in the pork supply chain, they are still at a high level. The reason is that EU produces fewer fattening pigs. Overall, it means that the difference with the price level at the beginning of 2022 only very gradually declines.
This is evident from the bimonthly explanation of the food price monitor of Wageningen Economic Research and CBS.
In addition, the food prices represented by the CPI underestimate food prices, especially in sectors where sustainability is well underway such as, for example, organic production in dairy systems or the Better Life label in the meat sectors. This is because the CPI aims at reflecting pure inflation. The methodology prescribed by the EU does hardly takes into account the price difference between the original product and the more sustainable product (often with a different EAN number) that replaces it.
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