The increase in the price of various food products has caused many families to reduce their supermarket purchases. There are products considered essential, such as olive oil, which have suffered “an absurd increase” and which, some consumers admit, “are not affordable for the majority of Madeirans”.
But was this increase in the price of olive oil really that significant?
According to a study by DECO PROTeste, on November 22nd of this year a 75-centiliter bottle of olive oil already cost 10.14 euros, that is, 4.45 euros more than a year ago. This shows that the price of extra virgin olive oil has increased by almost 80%.
DECO PROTeste states that the price of the food basket monitored by Consumer Protection since the beginning of 2022 cost, on November 22, 231.70 euros.
The price suffered a slight reduction with the entry into force of VAT Zero but, this week of November, and after several weeks of increasing, this basket once again reached one of the highest prices of the year.
But was this the only product in the basket of essential goods to increase? Studies show no!
According to DECO, in addition to extra virgin olive oil, in the last year the biggest price increases were seen in cereals and carolina rice. “Cereals rose by 2.05 euros (75%) last year, to 4.80 euros, on November 22nd. Carolino rice, in turn, increased 84 cents last year (64 %). On November 22nd of this year it already cost 2.16 euros”, he explains.
In the last week, between the 15th and 22nd of November, the products that saw their price rise the most in percentage terms were kale (plus 17%), lettuce (plus 17%) and strawberry liquid yogurt (plus 10 %).
The study also explains that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where a large part of the cereals consumed in the European Union (and in Portugal) came from, put pressure on the agri-food sector, which had been struggling for several months with the consequences of the pandemic and the drought, which had a strong impact on production and stock creation.