Illustrative stock photo (source: Sme)
The Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber (SPPK) has announced a 10- to 20-percent hike in product prices due to increasing input prices. It indicates that the hikes could be mitigated if retail chains narrow their margins and a better subsidy policy is put in place, but the increase in price is inevitable in Slovakia.
“We live in a time when basically everything is more expensive and it is unthinkable that the Slovak food industry could not increase its selling prices on the market,” said chair of SPPK Emil Macho, as quoted by the TASR newswire. “We want to send a clear signal that, within the whole food sector, an increase in our sales prices of 10 to 20 percent is a necessity in the long term.”
Input prices are the problem
Deputy chair of SPPK Marián Šolty emphasises that food companies have to increase their selling prices to survive.
Grocers point out that it is much easier for society to accept increases in, for example, fuel and energy prices than food. In the past, according to SPPK, household food spending ranged from 40 to 50 percent, while at present it is only 17 to 18 percent.
A major increase in input prices has been reported by poultry farmers, sugar manufacturers, the bakery industry, the dairy sector and wine producers. The prices of energy needed to cool white and sparkling wines have increased by 30-60 percent and the price of labour and other inputs has increased as well. Therefore, wine prices will rise by five to 15 percent.
The mill industry, oil producers and canneries also have problems with the rising input prices.
