The Swedish food prices increased by 0.8 percent in January, according to the Food Price Index. This is the largest increase in a single month since March 2023.
At the same time, inflation rose sharply to 2.2 percent in January, according to the CPIF measure, shows preliminary figures from Statistics Sweden (SCB).
The Social Democratic Party leader Magdalena Andersson is critical of the government and the cooperation party Sweden Democrats.
I can state that the government, together with Jimmie Åkesson, has lowered taxes for high-income earners by thousands of kronor every month, while Jimmie Åkesson has urged ordinary people to buy cheaper food, she says.
This is not a sustainable approach. The government must wake up.
Food Price Commission
The Social Democratic Party has previously proposed, among other things, the establishment of a food price commission to address the rising food prices. Andersson is now repeating that demand.
We want to see a food price commission. It would have been very good if we had had one now, then we might not have had to see these price increases, she says.
Of course, the food chains must take responsibility and not use the situation we have now, but when we now see that food prices are rising and continuing to rise, the government also has a responsibility to put pressure on the companies.
"Misdirected claims"
However, the trade organization Swedish Daily Goods Trade does not give much credence to Magdalena Andersson's reasoning, which they call "misdirected claims about the rising food prices".
"The food price increases in recent years are a direct consequence of global crises such as the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and extreme weather conditions. Raw material shortages and increased costs for input goods are driving prices up. Exactly the same development is seen throughout Europe. With the difference that Sweden also has a weak currency to handle," says Swedish Daily Goods Trade's CEO Karin Brynell in a written comment to TT.
