Consumer association SAFE Food Advocacy is calling on the Commission and other European institutions to take action to address food inflation in Europe, which is hitting the most vulnerable segments of the population hard. (1)
1) Food inflation in Europe
Food inflation in the EU-already recorded during the Covid-19 crisis (2)-has exacerbated since the war in Ukraine, as noted several times (3,4,5). Not only because of extraordinary increases in production costs(energy and fertilizer first and foremost) but also because of speculation by large food commodity traders, already denounced by iPES FOOD and Foodwatch (6,7).
Shrinkflation
(less quantity, same price) and greedflation (price increases greater than production and/or procurement costs), attributed to Big Food and some large retailers with various examples and a special study by the UNITE union in England, complete the picture (8,9). Food inflation thus persists, even now that commodity prices are close to pre-crisis levels.
2) Eurostat, the data
Consumer prices in the euro area recorded an overall inflation rate of +7.0 percent in May 2023 and average food inflation almost double, +13.5 percent. Processed foods rose 14.6 percent, unprocessed foods 10.0 percent (Eurostat, June 2023). (10)
The continued significant increase in food prices is mainly attributed to price increases from retail and food manufacturers, estimated at +12% and +17% year-on-year, respectively. Low-income citizens and families are thus forced to save on food quality.
3) Instances to EU institutions
SAFE Advocacy Europe’s paper ‘Household purchasing power, inflation, and unfair practices‘ makes a number of pleas to the European Commission and European institutions to empower consumers and protect their purchasing power:
Introduce price control mechanisms and support for member states that are already working on them,
- Develop effective tools to identify and monitor food inflation trends at different stages of the supply chain, from farm to fork, (11)
- Systematically monitor the effects of food inflation on consumer behavior,
- Introduce unjustified consumer price increases as an unfair trade practice.
4) Is that all?
European and member-state institutions have dragged Europe into a fratricidal conflict ‘by proxy’ against a historic ally, as well as economic partner and neighbor, like Russia. The ‘sanctions’ have led the EU into the worst economic crisis of the century, which has already triggered the relocation of the most energy-intensive industries.
The European Central Bank continues to raise interest rates and thus worsen conditions for households and businesses that need access to credit. The European Commission-which has already raised the salaries of its officials in 2022 (12) and is now about to increase their travel allowances-shows no real interest in the populace.
What about labor unions, and consumer associations, what concrete steps have they taken so far to protect the interests they claim to protect?
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) Household purchasing power, inflation, and unfair practices. https://tinyurl.com/4m5ray3t SAFE Food Advocacy. 19.6.23
(2) Marta Strinati. Inflation falls but food prices remain high. Istat surveys, May 2020. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 15.6.20
(3) Elena Bosani. War in Ukraine and child malnutrition. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 6.5.22
(4) Marta Strinati. Coop 2022 report, glimpse of Italy in the crisis. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 9.9.22
(5) Sabrina Bergamini. Consumption trends in Italy in 2022, GS1-Italy report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 19.3.23
(6) Marta Strinati. Rising prices and food crisis in wartime. Background in iPES FOOD report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 10.5.22
(7) Marta Strinati. Stop food speculation. Foodwatch Petition. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 8.11.22
(8) Marta Strinati. Consumers against shrinkflation and other disguised price increases. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 22.9.22
(9) Marta Strinati. Greedflation, the super profits of Corporations and supermarkets in the UK with the alibi of inflation. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 17.3.23
(10) In contrast, the average food inflation measured by the European Commission in May 2023, compared to May 2022, is +18.7 percent (+15.9 percent in Italy). V. European Commission, DG Agriculture. Price dashboard No 132 – May 2023 edition. https://tinyurl.com/usyparjv 21.6.23
(11) Dario Dongo. A telematic commodity exchange to promote transparency and fairness in the food supply chain. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 8.3.21
(12) Paola Tamma. Commission staff get pay raise – against its own advice. https://www.politico.eu/article/commission-staff-pay-raise-against-own-advice/ Politico. 21.6.22
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
