Rising food inflation
For more than 3 years, Testachats has been tracking the prices of more than 3,000 products in 7 supermarket chains (Albert Heijn, Carrefour, Colruyt, Cora, Delhaize, Aldi and Lidl) and calculating inflation. For the month of September, this increased slightly from 2.5% in August to 2.76% in September. This is the third consecutive increase in inflation since June when it stood at 2.31%.
The Testachats basket is 27% more expensive than in January 2022.
The product categories that have increased the most are soft drinks (+7%), fruits (+6%), vegetables (+5%) and grocery products (+4%). When we look more closely, we unsurprisingly find dark chocolate (+28%), olive oil (+27%) and orange juice (+21%) in the top 3 products having the most increased in a year.
The product categories that declined the most were paper products (paper towels, tissues and toilet paper) and other food films (aluminum film, plastic film) (-2%) and cleaning products (-0.2 %). The products that have declined the most over the past year are wet wipes (-13%) and fresh salmon (-11%).
The price of butter is exploding: “Pastries will not be the only products impacted”
A basket much more expensive than in January 2022
The Testachats basket is still 27% more expensive than in January 2022, the month during which inflation exceeded 2% for the first time. Ketchup is thus 83% more expensive than in January 2022, olive oil 66% more expensive, potatoes 53% more expensive and orange juice 47% more expensive.
“Our surveys show that it has become increasingly difficult for part of the population to meet basic food expenses. We ask the future government to be attentive to this point, and call on consumers to opt for private labels, compare supermarkets and always look at the unit price.“, advises Julie Frère, spokesperson for Testachats.
