Eurostat: Bread more expensive than ever

Luxemburg / LU. (ec) Bread, vegetables, meat – food has become more expensive. Prices for cooking oils and fats have risen particularly sharply, but important staple foods such as bread have also become significantly more costly. This is particularly due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has significantly disturbed global markets since Russia and Ukraine have been major exporters of grains, wheat, maize, oilseeds (particularly sunflowers) and fertilisers.

In August 2022, the price of bread in the EU was on average 18 percent higher than in August 2021. This is a huge increase compared with August 2021, when the price of bread was on average 3 percent higher than in August 2020. Monthly data also show a significant increase in headline inflation, although not as large (from plus 3 percent to plus 10 percent). This information comes from data on the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) published recently by Eurostat.

Some countries were much more affected than others. The highest average rate of change in bread prices was recorded in Hungary (plus 66 percent in August 2022), followed by Lithuania (plus 33 percent), Estonia and Slovakia (both plus 32 percent). Meanwhile, the lowest average rate of change in bread prices was recorded in France (plus 8 percent in August 2022), the Netherlands and Luxembourg – both plus 10 percent (Graphics: Eurostat).