It’s hard to imagine starting the day without a cup. coffee. However, according to Eurostat, this daily and beloved habit is getting more and more expensive.
“The recent price increase makes this staple almost a luxury item,” the European Statistical Office said, announcing that average coffee prices jumped 16.9% in August compared to last year.
Similarly, the prices of two materials that accompany coffee, sugar and milk, also recorded a jump. Fresh whole milk now costs 24.3% more on average, while consumers paid 22.2% more for fresh non-fat milk. Sugar recorded the biggest increase, with the average price jumping 33.4%.
The data showed that the prices of these four products rose in all EU member states except Malta, where the price of fresh skimmed milk remained unchanged.
Finland and Lithuania saw the highest changes in coffee prices with increases of 43.6% and 39.9% respectively, followed by Sweden and Estonia.
The largest jump in sugar prices was recorded in Poland, which has increased by 109.2% since August 2021. Large-scale growth was recorded in Estonia (+81.2%), Latvia (+58.3%), Bulgaria (+44.9%) and Cyprus (+43.2%).
The highest annual price increase for whole milk among EU member states. in August 2022, they occurred in Hungary (+51.7%), Lithuania (+46.8%), Croatia (+43.5%), Czech Republic (+43.3%) and Latvia (+40.1% ). For non-fat milk, the largest increase in prices was observed in Lithuania (+50.2%), Croatia (+41.2%), Estonia (+38.9%), Germany (+30.6%) and Hungary (+30.1%). %).
What’s going on in Greece?
However, in our country, the growth recorded in August 2022 was lower than the European average.
In particular, the price of coffee in August rose by 13.3% compared to the same month a year earlier (16.9% EU-wide), when the price in August 2021 compared to the corresponding month of 2020 was set at the level of 1.7%.
As for sugar, which became the “champion” in price growth in Greece, it recorded a slight decrease compared to July to 27% year on year from 27.6%, with an average increase in Europe of 33.4%. , from 20.3% in July (in our country, in August 2021, the price of sugar fell by 0.9%).
In terms of milk, prices for whole milk in Greece rose by 17.9% in August (it fell by 1% a year earlier) and by 16.7% for skim milk (it did not change in August 2021).
In some member countries of the European Union, price increases have reached very high levels.
With information from moneyreview.grAPE-MPE
Source: Kathimerini
Lori Barajas is an accomplished journalist, known for her insightful and thought-provoking writing on economy. She currently works as a writer at 247 news reel. With a passion for understanding the economy, Lori’s writing delves deep into the financial issues that matter most, providing readers with a unique perspective on current events.