Dai biscotti ai fruit juicesdal ice-cream al croissant al bar: il sugar price suffered record increases in a year. A 50% increase in 12 months. Inflation weighs on the pockets of Italian families even in the simplest and cheapest daily purchases.
As the Economist explains, in the last year the price of sugar in Italy has gone up, on average, by 50%. With consequent increases in the final price for dozens of products. And so having a breakfast (but not only) costs more and more.
The Italian trend is not an isolated case, considering that a similar trend is followed throughout Europe: the rise, for example, is 23% in France and even of 60% in Germany. What is this due to? price hike for sugar? AND what will happen in the next months?
Because the price of sugar has risen
As Corriere della Sera explains, the rising cost of sugar it is due to several factors. The first is related to war in Ukrainewith the Russian invasion leading to an increase in energy costs and therefore of all production considering that we are talking about an industry considered to consume energy.
Another determining factor is certainly that linked to Drought of the last few months, especially with the crisis of last summer. The sugar beet harvest the lack of rainfall has paid dearly and, moreover, the forecasts for 2023 do not seem the best: according to the EU Commission, a further drop of 6.9% is expected.
Because prices can still go up
The inevitable consequence is that imports will increase, especially from Brazil and India, our main suppliers. Precisely these countries will have increasingly more power from a contractual point of view, even being able to impose a higher price for the sugar.
Bioethanol and the reduction of production
Another question is that relating to the bioethanol, a material used to make biofuel and which is obtained from sugar beets. With the energy crisis and the increase in oil prices, more and more producers they decided to switch from sugar to ethanol. In essence they use more of the beets than in the past to produce ethanol. At the expense, of course, of sugar.
The theme of lower production also touches on another aspect: in fact, in recent years the area used has decreased for the beet cultivation in Europe. In fact, many farmers have decided to opt for cereals and oilseeds, thanks to which profit margins are higher and investments more limited.
Sugar, how much more prices will increase
In the coming months, therefore, they could arrive further price increases. A first critical moment could be faced at Eastera period in which most traditional products contain a very high percentage of sugar: think, for example, of Easter eggs.
Already last year, for example, they had registered net increases in the price of doves. And then the energy crisis was not yet in full swing and the consequences of the war in Ukraine were limited on prices: in that case it was +5%. The risk is that this year the increases are even greateras already partly seen at Christmas, with percentages well above those recorded last year.
