In March 2023, almost all European Union countries reported an increase in annual inflation for oils and fats, the only exception being Bulgaria, which reported a decrease of one per cent, EU statistics agency Eurostat said on May 8
The highest increase in annual inflation for oils and fats was recorded in Hungary ( an increase of 33 per cent compared with March 2022), followed by Denmark (32 per cent) and Belgium (31 per cent), Eurostat said.
In contrast, the smallest price increases were recorded in Croatia (six per cent), Austria (12 per cent) and Czech Republic (16 per cent), with Bulgaria being the only country to report a decrease (-1 per cent).
After the substantial increases over 2022, food prices continued to rise in the first quarter of 2023, with oils and fats among the products with high price increases, Eurostat said.
Data for March 2023 show that the price of oils and fats in the EU was, on average, 23 per cent higher than in March 2022.
The peak in the annual rate of change occurred in December 2022 (32 per cent compared with December 2021), indicating a nine percentage points (pp) decrease over the first three months of 2023. This suggests that the rate of inflation for oils and fats is starting to slow down.
For comparison: the increase in prices for oils and fats recorded between March 2021 and March 2022 was 18 per cent, and between March 2020 and March 2021 it was one per cent, Eurostat said.
Source : Sofia Globe
