The top 10 rising food prices in France… and five that are going down

The prices of everyday food items such as pasta, flour, oil, and meat are rising in France overall, with data showing increases in these and other common items of 2.89% in April year-on-year.

This shows a marked rise in comparison to rises of 0.58% in February and 1.49% in March.

The 2.89% figure applies to the price of major products bought at supermarkets and hypermarkets, such as food, hygiene, and cleaning items, as calculated by the consumption study institute, IRI, on May 3.

Price rises for food alone reached 3.01%.

Emily Mayer, a specialist in FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) products at IRI, said: "The price increase is currently affecting more than 90% of FMCG categories and is reaching very high levels on more and more products.”

The top 10 products whose prices rose the most (From April 2021 to April 2022)

Brands and supermarkets

In the report, IRI said: “This net increase is visible across all types of brands.”

• National brand prices: 2.64%
• Supermarket-own brands: 3.32%
• Premium brands: 6.6%.

Results are similar across the different types of supermarkets too.

• Drive-in: 2.47%.
• Supermarkets: 2.87%
• Hypermarkets: 2.90%
• Convenience stores: 3.02%
• Discount stores: 3.32%

Decreases for some

In contrast, a few products have seen their prices go down in April, year-on-year.

• Aniseed-flavoured aperitifs (-2.87%)
• Clothes washing products (-2.28%)
• Nappies (-1.56%)
• Cooked ham (-1.32%)
• Baby care products (-0.82%)

However, IRI predicts that prices will continue to rise overall in the coming months.

Ms Mayer said: “With the reopening of negotiations on certain products in the coming weeks, inflation could reach as much as 5% in supermarkets by early summer, a level not seen since 2008.”

Rising prices have caused some supermarkets to take action, including giant E. Leclerc, which has announced it will limit inflation costs on 120 everyday consumer items from May 4 to July 31.

Similarly, during his recent election campaign, President Emmanuel Macron pledged to create a food voucher to help low-income families to afford a greater variety of food items.

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