Oil and butter prices continue to soar a year later

2023-05-08 18:19:17

Brussel·lesInflation has hit different critical sectors, such as energy and food. And some of the products that are used more and at every meal, such as the different types of oils, fats or butters, are those that have been most affected by the crisis of rising prices that, a year after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, it still lasts. The prices of these foods shot up by 28.1% last March compared to the same month in 2022 in Spain, and by 23% overall in the twenty-seven, according to data published this Monday by the institute of statistics of the European Union, Eurostat.

Inflation in oils and fats

Annual percentage change

Spain is one of the states in the EU block in which the prices of these foods have risen the most over the last year. It is in seventh position, behind countries such as Hungary, which is the worst off with 33% year-on-year inflation, Denmark (32%) or Belgium (31%). Of the major economies, it is only surpassed by France, which has registered an increase of 29%, and is slightly ahead of Italy (28%) and above the Netherlands (25.1%) or Germany (18.1 %).

Price of oils and fats in Spain

Annual percentage change

At the other extreme, the state that has suffered the least inflation in butters, oils and fats is Croatia, which in March only recorded an annual rate of 6%. Austria is next, with 12%, and the Czech Republic, with 16%. The only country that has not reported an increase in the prices of these products was Bulgaria, where they decreased by 1%.

The prices of all these products – including margarine, corn oil, cottonseed oil, lard or, among others, peanut butter – skyrocketed mainly after of the war in Ukraine and are still fired. However, the year-on-year rates of price increase have been decreasing little by little in recent months, mainly in the first quarter of this year.

In the European Union as a whole, the highest peak was reached in December last year, when a year-on-year price increase of 32% was recorded. In fact, throughout the second half of 2022 this percentage remained above 30%. As for the Spanish state, it also reached the highest rate in December 2022, when it reached 38.1%.