Supermarkets across the country saw the prices of its most commonly purchased goods rise by 12.2% in 2022. The worrying trend looks set to continue this year. 

Inflation, global food shortages and widespread disruption to supply chains have created the perfect storm for escalating prices in supermarkets across not just France, but essentially the entire world.  

Year-on-year, the prices of France’s most frequently bought items have increased by more than 12.2%, according to the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) in a report released in mid-January. Last month saw the 13th consecutive rise, adding another 0.8% to the 1.4% increase seen in November. 

The figures omit the costs of fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and shellfish as well as a range of non-durable household goods and appliances, and personal care items and products, but are still revealing of the stresses of the current climate. The price of meat, for example, increased by almost 15% in 2022. Beverages rose by 8.2%. Household cleaning and personal hygiene products saw their average costs accelerate by 13.6%.  

In the last decade, the cheapest period for supermarket shoppers was the 2015 spring season. Prices dipped to similar levels in May 2021, but have since skyrocketed.  

A report commissioned by the French Ministry for Economy and Finance at the end of 2022 said, “Since January 2021, inflationary pressures, particularly on food products, have reached levels not seen in 40 years.”   

For their part, supermarkets have already warned the public that the trend is likely to continue well into 2023. In December, French businessman Michel-Edouard Leclerc, the president of the E.Leclerc supermarket chain among other enterprises, shared on Twitter the price hikes he expects will hit consumers in 2023: preserved fruit up 20.55%, preserved vegetables up 17.74%, coffee up 10.53%, pet food up 41%, and poultry up 13%. 

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Photo source: Alana Harris for Unsplash