By Chrysostomos Tsoufis

It is not only the general inflation figures that “mislead” those who compare what is happening in our country compared to the Eurozone. It is also the food inflation data. 1.4% in the Eurozone, 3.2% in Greece and with a continuous rise for 3 months now:

June 1%
July 1.4%
August 2.2%
September 3.2%

This is the 4th highest food inflation in Europe. Only Latvians, Romanians, Poles and Estonians saw higher food price increases in September.

FISH – SEAFOOD

From October 2023, Greece is consistently above the Eurozone and with the gap widening. In September, inflation in Greece was 6.7% compared to just 1.8% and of course we were champions in increases.

AVGA

2nd place here. In the Eurozone, egg prices have been falling since April and every month. In our country, only July was negative, otherwise prices are increasing at a variable rate.

POULTRY

3rd place behind Latvians and Poles. Despite the decrease in August (-0.4%), prices went up again. Poultry is of particular importance because all studies show that Greeks have increased the quantities they consume for reasons of health as well as economy.

FRUIT

Latvians, Poles and Slovenians just ahead of us. After 3 months of decline, in September prices jumped 7.7%. 1.9% increase in the Eurozone

OLIVE OIL

It could not be missing from the list even though the situation is improved. And in percentage, 38.9% while we had reached 67.4% in January and in a position since we are 5th. Cyprus, Malta, Estonia and Slovenia have experienced drastic increases.

Wine (6th place), juices and meats in general also belong to the category of products where price increases in our country are above the Community average.

The fact that something is not right in the domestic market can also be seen from ELSTAT’s data. The cost of production in our country has finally started to decrease. For August, the Statistical Service announced reductions:
17.1% in cereals and seeds
14.4% in vegetables – horticulture
2% on potatoes
1.1% in fruits

At the same time according to the same data
Energy costs decreased by 9.3%
Fertilizers 11.6%
Animal feed 2.8%
Agricultural drugs 1.4%

Did the Greek consumers see all this passed on the shelf? Probably not. On the contrary, the corresponding figures show increases within just one month (September to August):
9.1% in fresh fruit
7.3% in fresh vegetables
4.2% in potatoes

Examining the wholesale data shows that compared to last year prices have increased:
1 euro for cherry tomatoes
40 minutes in the long peppers
30 minutes on pumpkins, pomegranates, grapes
20 minutes in cucumbers, green onions, eggplants, celery

Information from the Ministry of Development says that this is all being looked into, and that fines for violations of the profit margin ceiling will be announced soon.