Lithuanians are not afraid of high prices
Sprinkled with nuts, covered with frosting or dipped in chocolate, the Boka bakery uses at least 300 kilograms of sugar every month to bake such cakes or buns.
“Sugar is one of the ingredients in baked goods. It is not so easy to replace it, so we use it in our production”, said the manager of the bakery, Martynas Vildžiūnas.
You cannot do without sugar in confectionery, and it is difficult to predict the price in advance. One month, sugar is ten times cheaper, and the next, it is more expensive.
“Up to 10 percent, we don’t transfer it to the burden of our customers, but we “eat” it ourselves, we include that increase in our costs. If there was a higher price increase, then it should be considered. If the price increases by 15-20 percent, then it would definitely be felt significantly in the cost prices of our products”, said M. Vildžiūnas.
The price of sugar is not yet at record highs, but sugar was more expensive than it is now only 12 years ago.
“If in that year the harvest has decreased and is lower than the demand for sugar, it means that the reserves are decreasing in the world and those prices jump. We can see even now that those prices have jumped sharply,” said Tadas Povilauskas, SEB bank economist.
According to the economist, the price of sugar rose by a third during the year, and it didn’t take long for buyers to feel it. The price of a kilogram of sugar in the store now starts at 1.20 euros, but Lithuanians are in no hurry to exchange it for honey.
“Sugar is cheap now. Sugar is up about 5 percent, and volumes are growing by about 3 percent. So, Lithuanians really didn’t stop buying sugar”, shared Vaida Budrienė, representative of “Iki”.
“Sugar is still in our everyday life. It is really rapidly used in various baked goods, cooking and the like, so sales and demand for it are fairly even,” said Eglė Krasauskienė, representative of Rimi Lietuva.
There are no better signs yet
Those with a sweet tooth will have to empty their wallets for a while longer. There is no good news that sugar will become cheaper.
“If the price really changes significantly and it jumps to the heights, we will be forced to look for other solutions,” said the head of the “Boka” bakery.
“For the time being, there is no sign of a drop in prices, looking at the coming months. We will probably have to wait until next year,” said economist T. Povilauskas.
Other sweets are also more expensive. The cocoa beans used to make chocolate were so expensive only 44 years ago, so the price of chocolate in Lithuania has risen exceptionally sharply. During the year, its price increased by a fifth, and no other European Union country can boast of such growth.
“This is probably a very clear signal of what it means when we are dependent on several countries in the world,” said T. Povilauskas.
Coffee lovers will also have to empty their wallets
No knowledge and for coffee lovers. As stated in LNK news, coffee is cheap on the stock exchange, but not for consumers.
“The economic situation itself, when the ratio of the dollar and the euro changes, has a very strong effect on the price of coffee itself, because coffee is bought in dollars on the coffee exchange,” said Iveta Legotė, the sales manager of Kavos draugas.
Coffee experts predict that we won’t see cheap coffee until the middle of next year, and until then, most buyers will be looking for ways to buy coffee cheaper.
“People tend to buy coffee beans and grind them at home if they like to drink pour-over coffee. The price of the cup itself is cheaper than buying only the ground price”, said I. Legotė.
It is not expected that the price of coffee will soon return to the level of 2021. Two years ago, it was surprising that you have to pay 2 euros for a cup of coffee in a cafe, and now a cappuccino can cost 3.5 euros.
You can find the full report on the LNK portal:
2023-11-03 16:33:44
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