Price hikes of up to 17% on supermarket shelves

Family budgets are burning and from the threat of a generalized wave of price increases that is beginning to be felt in the Greek market. The rally that has been recorded for a few months now in raw materials and transportation costs worldwide is "knocking" at Greece's door, with the first major price increases having already appeared in a wide range of products, from food and consumer goods to building materials and animal feed (up to 40%).

The phenomenon is expected to intensify over the next period as information indicates that significant price increases have been launched that will be reflected directly on the shelves of supermarkets. Pork (up 17%), imported cheeses, oils (of all kinds over 5%), legumes (up to 8%), sugar, baby milk, mayonnaise, baby care items (over 6%), air fresheners and many more products are getting ready to climb, further straining family budgets.

Similar pressures are being exerted on other categories, with experts and analysts worried about how things might turn out, as suppliers' resilience to absorbing the extra costs is limited. Indicative is the case of fertilizers, which have already risen between 20% and 30%. Traders in the industry say they are receiving messages from major suppliers that prices are not expected to fall below these levels for the rest of this year. The upward trend is also recorded in the indices of the Hellenic Statistical Service (ELSTAT), such as the indices of output prices of agricultural production, ie the selling prices of products. For example, the crop production index increased in March by 6.1% compared to 2020 and the livestock production index by 0.6% compared to 2020.

The issue is being closely monitored by the government, with competent sources not hiding their concerns about...