Since autumn 2022, prices have been on the rise in supermarkets. According to Le Parisien, a year ago, a shopping basket of 31 products cost 100 euros. For the same products, the consumer should now pay 115 euros.
Our colleagues based themselves on a basket of 31 products whose prices they compared between February 2022 and February 2023. According to their study, cooked ham increased by 20.4%, whipped cream by 38.6% and endives by 85.4%! In order to cushion this total increase of 15%, it is recommended to remove 7 items from your shopping basket.
The French have not waited to already limit their expenses by removing products from their shopping trolley. For the first time since the 1960s, the French have reduced their food consumption by 4.6% in 2022.
Juliette Favre, expert in consumer products at the IRI institute, explains to Le Parisien “that products with a high face value have fallen in volume in sales. People avoid certain departments, such as that of alcohol, which is often expensive. , so as not to be tempted.”
Beyond alcohol and “pleasure” products, we see that meat, fresh fish, fruit and vegetables are increasingly neglected by households. To replace them, they turn to more affordable brands, reduce quantities or choose substitute products (ham, canned vegetables).
A thrifty behavior that is not about to stop.
After a price increase of 13.3% over one year in January, that of February should reach 13.7% according to INSEE. A well-established trend that should last until the beginning of summer. INSEE forecasts an increase of around 13.3% for the month of June.
If we have heard a lot about a “red march”, it seems that inflation continues long after. As Michel-Édouard Leclerc, the boss of the E. Leclerc centers, announced: “It’s not March that’s going to be red but the second quarter.” The increases may even “reverberate through July, because it takes four or five months” for them to hit supermarket shelves.
“Those who say that there will be double-digit inflation, up to 40%, forget to say that the price increases will only concern certain products but not the whole of food,” a senior Parisian told Le Parisien. official of the Ministry of Economy.
What are the seven food products to banish from your shopping list to save money? Check them out in our slideshow below.
Dominique Schelcher, CEO of System U, is pessimistic for the months to come. At the microphone of France Inter, he revealed his scenario: “My prognosis unfortunately for the coming months is an additional 10%, despite all our efforts”. A descent into hell for consumers, which could begin on March 1, 2023 following negotiations between manufacturers, producers and distributors.
At the end of 2023, the rise in consumer prices for food products could reach 25% over one year. “As much as things were very justified throughout last year, with the consequences of the war in Ukraine, as much this year, there is a search for a windfall effect on the part of a certain number of actors”, lamented the CEO of System U. Before concluding: “Why do we continue to be asked for price increases? Wheat is down 23%, oil 40% in recent months. Butter, corn, steel, aluminum, packaging, transportation are down.”