The situation in the Czech Republic is slowly starting to calm down and food is gradually becoming cheaper. And further development in the following year also looks favorable, according to experts. However, they drew attention to a major problem facing the republic.
A number of people often still feel dizzy when looking at their shopping bill. Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) publishes every month how the average price of basic food has changed. You can see the development this year in the table below.
Compared to the beginning of the year, we now pay the most for pork roast, when a kilogram costs almost eight crowns more. For example, they also went up in price potatoes, by roughly five crowns per kilo. We give two crowns more per kilo apples.
Average consumer food prices | Source: CZSO/TN.cz
On the contrary, compared to January of this year, it became cheaper butter, by 45 crowns per kilogram. However, it is important to note that in the previous months the price was still much lower and now it has gone up again significantly. We now also pay a lower price for Edamwhen a kilo brick costs almost 40 crowns less.
Another drop
Experts expect the situation to improve next year. “The pressure to increase prices will be lower than in the past two years. For seven months in a row, the prices at which farmers sell products to food retailers have fallen. It can be expected that there will not be such a price increase next year, and some foods may even become cheaper.” said TN.cz economist Petr Studnička.
In addition, other factors can also contribute to the favorable development of prices. “At the same time, the price of electricity on the stock exchange fell below 100 euros (note ed. converted to approximately 2,454 crowns) per megawatt hour, which was one of the main arguments for the price increase. Then we have relatively favorable fuel prices. Another factor is that the prices of agricultural commodities have returned to pre-war levels, often even lower,” outlined economist Štěpán Křeček.
A reduction in VAT on food should also be reflected in prices from the new year. Many stores have already announced that this will actually happen. Some have even started discounting already.
Insufficient competition
“However, changes in the rate may not automatically mean a reduction in prices. That depends on the grocers and traders. But there is strong pressure for the change in the VAT rate to be reflected in the final prices for customers,” Studnička added.
But according to experts, the Czech Republic is facing a fundamental problem. “It is, of course, a question whether this will actually happen and food will become cheaper next year. In the Czech Republic, unfortunately, we do not have good competition on the food market and some may abuse their market position. That lack of competition can lead to us having higher prices than what they usually are abroad,” concluded Křeček.
People are furious about expensive food and said who they think is to blame. You will learn more in the following report (12/2023):
TN.cz
2023-12-19 15:47:00
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