Consumers have reduced their spending due to high inflation and spent savings. (source: Sme)
In January, shoppers in Slovakia paid over 6.8 percent more y-o-y for foodstuffs and non-alcoholic beverages. This is the most significant increase within the EU for the third month in a row. The second highest increase was in Estonia at 5.6 percent and the Czech Republic and Hungary both at 4.5 percent.
The increase was most dramatic for eggs (up 49.5 percent) and butter (up almost 37 percent). By contrast, sugar was cheaper in local groceries at the beginning of 2018 by about 9 percent y/y, according to analysis compiled by the Slovak Farmers’ Cooperative (SFD), based on Eurostat data.
“In recent months, we have been experiencing such a rise in food prices that has not been seen here for a long time,” said analyst with the Slovak Farmers’ Cooperative Eva Sadovská, as cited by the SITA newswire. “After several years of decline or stagnation in food prices, at the end of 2017 the situation has made a U-turn.”
Slovaks noticed the rise in food prices right away as they make up almost one-fifth of our total costs, pointed out Sadovská.
Sadovská expects that food prices will continue to increase between 6.5 and 7 percent y/y over the following months.
