Everything shows that inflation is accelerating, while in the EU it has already reached almost 11%. and up to 10.1% in the UK. Food prices in the EU rose by almost 16%. and over 14% in the UK. But few things cause as much concern as the cost of the most basic form of nutrition, of bread, whose prices have never been higher as they have risen nearly 19% in the past 12 months. The decisive factor was the war in Ukraine, as it caused an energy crisis and a surge in the prices of grains, oils and fertilizers.

The wide range of inflation is fueling the worries of politicians and economists who see rising prices consolidating. Food companies are passing on increased costs to consumers, such as Nestle, which announced a few days ago that its prices in the third quarter of the year rose by 9.5% compared to the same period last year. High consumer prices cause concern USA where inflation is at its highest level in 40 years despite his efforts Federal Reserve to cool the economy. Even there, the price of bread has jumped by 15% over the past year. However, when bread becomes more expensive, people immediately feel the difference.

According to Eurostat, the increase is more noticeable in countries close to the war zone, such as Hungary, where the cost of bread was 77% higher in September compared to the same period last year. In Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia, bread prices increased by 30%.

Large growth in countries close to the war zone – A wave of blockages of stoves in Holland and Belgium.

The inflationary hurricane has shaken all of Germany, where the cost of bread has risen by 18% in the last 12 months. Headline inflation in Europe’s largest economy is also in double digits, hitting 10.9% in September. Fine Bagels in Berlin recently raised the price of American-style bagels from €1.10 to €1.20. However, as Alisa Zuza, an employee of the bakery, notes, it was not without problems. “There was a dispute in the bakery,” he points out, “because “the owners didn’t want us to raise prices, but in the end we realized that we had no other choice.” The owner’s concerns are justified. In the Netherlands, an army of stoves has been closed since the end of summer due to the high cost of energy.

In Belgium, bakeries are raising prices, but one in ten has been forced to close and more lockouts are expected before the end of the year. At the same time, in Lithuania, the traditional bakery Velzelio Duona tried to avoid this ugly fate.

Its owner Vaidas Baranauskas bakes traditional bread according to his mother’s recipe. This year, she was forced to raise prices by 33% to cover the increased costs of flour, sunflower oil and sugar. After all, this has doubled the cost of some of the nuts and seeds that are added to some categories of bread. And the standard bread industry didn’t go unscathed either. Large European supermarkets that sell large quantities of bread have tried to keep prices artificially low to attract shoppers, but a constant spike in ingredient prices has forced them to raise prices. And consumers also expect new increases.

The reason is that prices don’t seem to be coming down, notes Joan Saunders, president of Fedima, the European Federation of Furnace Suppliers. “For the first time in many years, we are seeing inflation in the prices of basic foodstuffs,” Mr. Sanders said, adding: “This is worrisome because inflation is here to stay and it will be difficult to bring prices down. “