Over the past year, prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages have risen by 2.2 percent, according to SCB.
The increase in food prices in January was the largest in a single month since March 2023, according to the latest survey by Matpriskollen.
According to Eric Lundberg, the increase is due to several factors.
We are in a continued challenging situation. We have war in our surroundings that affects goods transport, delays in shipments that need to take detours, and general cost increases both linked to interest rates and exchange rates, he says and continues:
We also see, unfortunately, that raw material prices are affected by harvests, linked to climate issues.
Cold in Spain
Coffee, tea, and cocoa prices rose the most, with an increase of 3.6 percent. Cucumbers stand out – they have become 30 percent more expensive since December.
According to Lundberg, the increases are linked to the climate. It has been cold in Spain at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, which has affected the quality and production volume of cucumbers.
Then, demand has been greater than supply, and that affects.
Is Ica doing anything to lower food prices?
We have been working for a long time to streamline our organization, worked to remove costs, and thus lowered prices to the country's Ica retailers.
This is something we will clearly continue to do, says Lundberg and adds that it is difficult to say how far the investments will reach.
"Great volatility"
How large will the price increases be in the future?
It is very difficult to make any predictions.
Are there certain product groups that are expected to increase in price in the future?
I do not want to comment on individual product groups. There is a very great volatility in the market right now, says Lundberg.
