Sugar, butter, potatoes, margarine, eggs, milk and cow’s milk were the most expensive in April, although inflation reported by the INS on Friday is steadily declining. Inflation fell from 14.5 to 11.2% in a month, but the population has not yet felt this sharp drop.

Food market of customersPhoto: Inquam Photos / George Călin

• The consumer price index in April 2023 to March 2023 is 100.75%.

• The annual inflation rate in April 2023 compared to April 2022 is 11.2%.

The products mentioned at the beginning of the article have risen in price by 28%, or even by 58%, and this is sugar.

Average prices were affected by fuel and medicine, INS data also showed

Even if inflation falls, it does not mean that prices in turn fall, just that they grow more slowly.

​Inflation is everyone’s problem, unlike crisis or unemployment, which affect only a few. Wages, although growing at a high rate (over 13%), do not keep up with the accelerated growth of prices and increase the feeling of financial discomfort. When you go to the grocery store, you spend more money on the same products than you did last month, and the money seems to be slipping through your fingers.

In addition to inflation created “on the spot”, Romania imports inflation from outside, especially from countries with which we have a large trade deficit and where prices are higher than in Romania. “Look at the deficit we have with Germany or Hungary! You will see how much inflation we import from there,” INS Tudorel President Andriy pointed out.

In Germany, food products have grown by more than 17% (data for February 2023), and we import 5 billion euros of German goods annually. Likewise, inflation in Hungary has exceeded 25%, and imports are approaching 2 billion euros per year.

Romania also exports inflation to countries such as the United Kingdom (with which we have a positive trade balance, and “Romanian” inflation is higher than the British one), the Republic of Moldova, the USA or France. However, the list is longer and includes Morocco, Japan, Norway, Gibraltar and other countries with which we have a positive trade balance and where inflation is lower than ours.