According to Bloomberg data published on Monday, food prices in France and Spain are continuing their relentless increase as the EU faces its worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.
According to data from the national statistics office and the Ministry of Agriculture and Nutrition, the cost of the primary foodstuffs needed to cook the French meal coq-au-vin increased 15.4% in March to more over €19 ($21) compared to the same period a year ago.
France is the EU’s largest poultry consumer. Chicken, the major component in the classic dish, increased by roughly 18%, carrots by 33.5%, butter by 23.9%, and even wine, which suffered the slowest price increase, increased by 8.4% year on year.
France’s cost-of-living crisis has worsened. According to a recent INSEE study, inflation in the Eurozone’s second-largest economy has continued at a record rate, and quicker than projected in February, owing mostly to rising food prices. Inflation has been driven mostly by food, services, and manufactured commodities.
The French government previously implemented a so-called “anti-inflation food basket” of approximately 50 basic commodities, requiring large shops not to raise prices on these necessities.
Meanwhile, the prices of essential ingredients used in the Spanish dish paella have risen, according to Bloomberg’s monthly Paella Index, which is based on data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute. Cooking the national dish of Spain is now 18.5% more expensive than a year ago. Olive oil costs have risen 32.1% year on year, while vegetables and legume prices have risen 27.8% year on year and 5.7% month on month. Rice prices have risen 22.1% year on year.
The Spanish Agrarian Association of Young Farmers has warned of future price increases due to potential olive oil shortages following last year’s drought, as harvests in Spain, the world’s largest olive oil producer, are already much lower.
According to the Rice Federation of the Isla Mayor municipality, Spain’s biggest producer of the crop, rice prices may also rise due to a 40% year-on-year fall in production in 2022, the worst on record.
