The consumer association SAFE Food Advocacy calls on the Commission and the other European institutions to take action to tackle food inflation in Europe, which hits the most vulnerable sections of the population hard. (1)
1) Food inflation in Europe
Food inflation in the EU – already experienced during the Covid-19 crisis (2) – is exacerbated starting from the war in Ukraine, as has been repeatedly noted (3,4,5). Not only because of the extraordinary increases in production costs (the energy e fertilizers (in primis)) but also as a result of the speculations of the greats trader di commodities food, already reported by iPES FOOD e Foodwatch (6,7)
shrinkflation (less quantity, same price) e greedflation (price increases greater than those of production and/or procurement costs), attributed to Big food and some big ones retailer with various examples and a special study by the UNITE trade union in England, complete the picture (8,9). Food inflation thus persists, even now that price lists commodities are close to pre-crisis levels.
2) Eurostat, the data
Consumer prices in the euro area recorded in May 2023 an overall inflation rate of +7,0% and average food inflation almost double, +13,5%. Processed food rose by 14,6%, unprocessed by 10,0% (Eurostat, June 2023). (10)
The continuous increase and significant increase in food prices is mainly attributed to the increase in prices by the retail and food producers, estimated at +12% and +17% respectively on an annual basis. Low-income citizens and families are thus forced to save on food quality.
3) Applications to the EU institutions
The document 'Household purchasing power, inflation, and unfair practices' by SAFE Advocacy Europe addresses a series of requests to the European Commission and the European institutions, to empower consumers and protect their purchasing power:
introduce price control mechanisms and support to Member States that are already working on them,
- develop effective tools to identify and monitor food inflation trends at different stages of the supply chain, from farm to fork (11)
- systematically monitor the effects of food inflation on consumer behaviour,
- introduce unjustified increases in consumer prices among unfair trading practices.
4) Is that all?
The European institutions and member states have dragged Europe into a fratricidal conflict 'by proxy' against a historic ally, as well as an economic partner and neighbour, such as Russia. The 'sanctions' led the EU to the most serious economic crisis of the century which has already triggered the relocation of the most energy-intensive industries.
The Central Bank European Union continues to raise interest rates and thus worsen the conditions of households and businesses that need to access credit. The European Commission – which has already raised the salaries of its officials in 2022 (12) and is now preparing to increase their travel allowances – shows no concrete interest in the populace.
And the unions, and consumer associations, what concrete initiatives have they taken so far to protect the interests they claim to protect?
Dario Dongo
Footnotes
(1) Household purchasing power, inflation, and unfair practices. https://tinyurl.com/4m5ray3t SAFE Food Advocacy. 19.6.23
(2) Marta Strinati. Inflation falls but food prices remain high. Istat surveys, May 2020. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 15.6.20
(3) Elena Bosani. War in Ukraine and child malnutrition. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 6.5.22
(4) Marta Strinati. Coop Report 2022, a glance at Italy in the crisis. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 9.9.22
(5) Sabrina Bergamini. Consumption trends in Italy in 2022, GS1-Italy report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 19.3.23
(6) Marta Strinati. Rising prices and food crisis in times of war. Background in the iPES FOOD report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 10.5.22
(7) Marta Strinati. Stop food speculation. Foodwatch petition. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 8.11.22
(8) Marta Strinati. Consumers vs shrinkflation and other hidden price increases. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 22.9.22
(9) Marta Strinati. Greed inflation, the super profits of Corporation and supermarkets in the UK under the guise of inflation. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 17.3.23
(10) Average food inflation recorded by the European Commission in May 2023, compared to May 2022, is instead +18,7% (+15,9% in Italy). v. European Commission, DG Agriculture. Price dashboard No 132 - May 2023 edition. https://tinyurl.com/usyparjv 21.6.23
(11) Dario Dongo. An electronic commodity exchange to promote transparency and fairness in the food supply chain. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 8.3.21
(12) Paola Tamma. Commission staff get pay raise — against its own advice. https://www.politico.eu/article/commission-staff-pay-raise-against-own-advice/ Politic. 21.6.22
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
