Lowest since October 2021 inflation in Greece in April 2023 to 3%, mainly driven by retreat energy prices. It maintains a high level food inflation, as it was 11.4%, and this trend is expected to continue at least until the end of the first semester. However, the fact that there is even a slight decrease, 0.1%, in monthly terms in food inflation, undoubtedly indicates that, albeit at a slow pace, a downward trend in prices in the food category has also begun.

According to market players on his part food retail, but also suppliers, and also, according to marketers, for some types of raw materials, such as cow’s milk, prices began to decline in Europe, and gradually in Greece. For this reason, after all, several dairy companies have cut prices on some of their cow’s milk products, even if those cuts don’t cover their most basic codes.

However, the same cannot be said about dairy products and cheeses made from goat’s and sheep’s milk, prices for which remain at a fairly high level. Get discounted price lists Supermarket and in the category of vegetable oils, products that were highly valued last year, with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. On the other hand, products that are still made from expensively purchased raw materials are unlikely to be available on the market at lower prices. And in some cases, commodity prices continue to rise, with sugar being the most typical example, pushing up the prices of a range of products, from sweets and chocolate to soft drinks.

Based on data released yesterday by the Hellenic Statistical Office (ELSTAT)the formation of food inflation at the level of 11.4% was mainly due to an increase in prices on an annualized basis by 19.1% for dairy products and eggs, by 16.2% for oils and fats, by 13.8% for bread – cereals, by 12 1% in coffee, 12% in meat, 11% in sugar, chocolate, sweets, 8.5% in mineral water, soft drinks and fruit juices.

Supermarket bills continue to be weighed down by rising prices for everyday goods (16.3% year-on-year), while pharmaceuticals are up 13.9% year-over-year.

Inflation was 3% in April, the lowest since October 2021.

Summer vacation planning seems to be a puzzle for households, given that in addition to a 34.1% and 11.2% annual increase in airfare and ferry tickets, respectively, there was an 11.8% increase in monthly living prices.

On the other hand, the price of natural gas decreased by 25.1% y/y and 13.4% m/m, and the price of electricity decreased by 29.9% y/y and 0.5% m/m.

The de-escalation of prices, or even their slight increase, is also confirmed by the data of the research company Circana (formerly IRI) on supermarket sales for the first quarter of 2023. Although the increase in the value of sales is still higher than sales volume, a slight reduction in “scissors” is recorded. In particular, in January, the value of sales increased by 7%, while sales decreased by 2.5%, and in February, the value of sales increased by 16.7%, while sales increased by 5.3%. However, in March, the value of sales increased by 3.6%, while sales decreased by 5.4%.

What is certain is that high prices continue to squeeze demand, as evidenced by the fact that in the first quarter of 2023, sales increased by 8.5%, while sales decreased by 1.3%.

The pressure on family budgets can also be seen in the further strengthening of the share of private label products, which in the first quarter of 2023 amounted to 17.7%, while this category “works” with a growth rate of 19%.