As a recent study shows, producer prices for food have risen much faster than retail prices in supermarkets. Increased energy prices are particularly responsible for this. It is therefore foreseeable that food prices will continue to rise in the near future. The price increase is likely to be even higher than before.
Trade expert expected further food price increases
Trade expert Aurélien Duthoit from credit insurer Allianz Trade comments. “In Germany, food retail prices are likely to increase by more than 10 percent in 2022”. This corresponds to an average of another 250 euros in additional costs per capita per year.
The worst is yet to come
Although food prices have already risen sharply in recent months, the real costs on the producer side are not yet nearly priced in. According to Duthoit, the worst is yet to come for households.
At the same time, the prices of food producers in Germany have already risen considerably. In purely statistical terms, the price increase for producers has already amounted to 16.6 percent since 2021. However, individual products have become much more expensive. For example, the mark-up for oils and fats was 53 per cent, for flour 28 per cent and for pasta 19 per cent. The war in Ukraine and the resulting shortages are cited as the cause. Retail prices, on the other hand, had risen by only 6 per cent on average. “The past has shown that retail prices by and large adjust to producer prices, albeit with a certain delay,” Duthoit says in this regard.
Nine out of ten companies are already planning further price increases
According to a survey by the IFO Institute, nine out of ten companies in the food retail sector are planning further price increases. They cite higher energy prices as well as higher procurement and transport costs as the reason.
Although the large retail chains are trying to curb the price increase as much as possible, they can hardly stop this against the brand manufacturers. Edeka boss Markus Mosa emphasises: “Rising consumer prices must not serve as an alibi for the industrial groups to maximise their profits with excessive price demands”. At the same time, he appealed to them not to overstep the mark when it comes to price increases. Edeka will continue to negotiate with the manufacturers in order to avert such price increases.
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