Prices rise worldwide: from Brazilian beans to pork in China

Prices have soared since the end of confinements by Covid-19 and the beginning of the Ukrainian War. According to the IMF, world inflation will reach 8.3% this year. How does this affect families?

Fuel

Since the beginning of the war, oil prices have soared, with Russia being the third largest producer in the world. A barrel of North Sea Brent reached USD 140 (BRL 740), before falling below the USD 100 (BRL 529) threshold.

That sparked a rise in gasoline prices, topping two euros a liter in March in France, Germany and the UK, or $5 a gallon in the US in mid-June, before to moderate in recent weeks.

The same for fuel and gas: energy is by far the biggest component of inflation in the eurozone, with a rise of 38.6% in August in a year, according to Eurostat figures published this Friday (17). ).

This has repercussions throughout the economy, increasing companies’ production costs. The situation is so critical that some factories have closed to avoid very high bills.

Pasta, beans and tortillas

In Brazil, another food present in most meals, beans cost 22.67% more in August than a year earlier, according to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).

In Ukraine, the “breadbasket of Europe”, the war pushed up grain prices and led to record wheat in early March.

Therefore, pasta became more expensive. In May, Allianz estimated that they had increased by 19% in the eurozone over the past 18 months.

In Canada, a major wheat exporter, a 500-gram package of noodles rose 60 cents in price in one year to 3.16 Canadian dollars ($2.39, R$12), according to official data.

In Thailand, instant noodles, a popular product whose price is capped by the state, rose in August for the first time in 14 years, from 1 baht ($0.03) to 7 baht.

In terms of corn, the kilo of tortilla, a staple food in Mexico, increased by an average of 2.79 pesos (US$0.15, R$0.79) between January and mid-September, according to official data. It is one of the products that most influences inflation in the country.

Meat

With more expensive grains, it becomes more difficult to feed livestock, which also drives up beef prices.

Pork, the most consumed in China, jumped more than 22% in a year in August. The Xinhua agency announced on Friday that the authorities will draw on their strategic reserves of this meat for the second time this year in order to stabilize prices.

In Argentina, ground veal, popular for its traditionally low prices, rose 76.7% year-on-year. The country suffers from one of the worst inflation rates in the world, 56.4% in the first eight months of the year.

In Europe, the price of chicken rose considerably, also driven by the avian flu. One hundred kilos of chicken became 33% more expensive year-over-year in August, according to European Commission data.

Beer

Inflation is also noticeable when it comes to drinks: beer pays the highest prices for barley and wheat, but also for aluminum in cans and glass in bottles.

These drinks are “70% more expensive than before the war” in Ukraine, according to the Brewers of Europe association.

The Dutch Heineken highlighted that it increased its prices by 8.9% on average in the first half. According to estimates by Bloomberg, the Brazilian-Belgian AB InBev (Corona, Budweiser, Quilmes…) increased its prices by 8%.

In the UK, a liter of beer has surpassed four pounds sterling, the highest level since 1987, according to the Office of National Statistics.

newspapers

Paper is also more expensive. Its manufacture requires a lot of energy and the price of paper pulp had already increased with the resumption of activity after the confinements.

French newspapers such as Le Figaro, L’Humanité and Le Point have become more expensive by a few tens of euro cents since January.

In the UK, newspapers such as The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Mail also announced price increases.

Other newspapers chose to reduce their pagination. Overall, newspaper prices rose 6.5% in July, according to Eurostat.