Six months before the presidential election in Poland, the price of butter is the hot topic of the pre-campaign. On December 9, the leader of the ultraconservative opposition, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, posted on X a photo of a bar of butter in a safe. Way of mocking the government of liberal Donald Tusk, who would have let the commodity become a luxury product. The price of butter has increased by 30% in one year, according to the economic observatory UCE Research.
It’s the fault of the Central Bank, cried Rafal Trzaskowski, the candidate of the Prime Minister’s party, accusing the institution of inertia in the face of inflation (3.9%). For good measure, he intends to deliver a lump of butter to the governor of the institution, so that he becomes aware of the high cost of living.
€9.40 per kg on the shelves
On Tuesday, the Tusk government announced the marketing of 1,100 tonnes of butter. They will be drawn from the strategic reserves. Many countries around the globe maintain such stocks – of pigs in China, of maple syrup in Canada – whether to ensure national security or to hold leverage in the event of a crisis.
Concretely, batches of frozen butter of 25 kg were put up for auction this Thursday, at the price of 28.38 zlotys (€6.70) per kilo, well below the prices on the shelves (€9.40 to 11 .75 € depending on the brand) from the large Biedronka chain. The goal is less to flood the market than to put downward pressure on the labels… before it starts to smell scorched.
But the liquidation of the stock risks being a complete loss. Because the wholesale price of butter on European markets has increased by 50% in one year, which augurs future increases in grocery stores.
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