Rising prices derail family supermarket budgets

Prices for essential goods and services are on the rise, with the inflation, hitting the economy and consumer income, showing no signs of abating.

Giorgos Pilidis, president of the Association of Small and Medium Supermarkets of Greece, spoke on MEGA channel about the price hikes recorded in basic food items.

“The continuous increase observed is mainly due to the energy crisis, which brings about a crisis chain reaction, which mainly affects small and medium enterprises. This price rally started last September and there is no de-escalation in sight”, underlined Mr. Pilidis. Referring to the winter, he predicted that things are not going to go well, as the cost of electricity in small supermarkets has already increased threefold. And he advised that consumers do market research and look for deals before shopping .

For example, in the month of March flour (1 kg) was at 1.28 euros, while in August it rose to 1.86 euros, marking an increase of 45%. Sandwich bread (500 g) cost 1.85 euros in March, while in August it reached 2.20 euros, an increase of 18.9%. One liter of milk was sold in March for 1.38 euros and in August it climbed to 1.82 euros, an increase of 31% and for spaghetti (500 g) the March price was 0.97 euros, while in August it was 1 ,20 euros, up by 23.7%.

Exorbitant price hikes on supermarket shelves

For the month of August there was an increase from 4% to 20% in several products:

· Cold cuts

· Cheese

· Dairy Products

· Instant coffee

· Eggs

· Stationery

A new wave of price hikes is coming in September in:

– croissants, buns and cakes up to 20%

– cheeses up to 12%

– soaps & dishwashing liquids up to 9%

– pasta up to 8%

– laundry detergents and softeners up to 8%

– rice 5%

– butter up to 5%