An analysis of the applied values by DECO Proteste shows that the price of the basic food basket “is €207.80 this week, €24.17 more than it was on February 23rd”, but €1.21 less than in the previous month. a week.
From February 23 to September 21, meat has risen in price by 17.82% (up 5.75 euros), while pork chop today costs 25% more, that is, 1.11 euros.
As for fish, the consumer protection association points out that it is now 14.97% more expensive than before the Russian war against Ukraine, 9.03 euros more expensive.
The Consumer Protection Association monitors weekly prices for a basket of 63 staples, which includes items such as turkey, chicken, hake, horse mackerel, onions, potatoes, carrots, bananas, apples, oranges, rice, spaghetti, sugar. , ham, milk, cheese and butter.
This week, in the period from 14 to 21 September, the top ten products with the largest price increases were zucchini (up 10%), spiral pasta (up 8%), cereals (up 7%), plus 6%), Flemish cheese . (plus 5%), Biscuit Maria (plus 5%), orange (plus 5%), flour for cakes (plus 5%), tomato pulp (plus 5%) and horse mackerel (another 4%).
Looking at the period since February 23 this year, DECO Proteste shows that all food categories have shown price increases, with meat (up 17.82%) and fish (up 14.97%) standing out the most. However, there is also an increase in fruits and vegetables (up 14.65%), food products (up 10.23%), dairy products (up 11.15%) and frozen foods (up 2.48%).
In addition, the top 10 products that rose the most between February 23 and September 21 were broccoli (up 55%), cabbage (up 49%), whole chicken (up 33%), fresh hake (up 30%). %), cakes. flour (30% more), turkey steak (28% more), Maria cookies (27% more), pork chops (25% more), vegetable oil 100%, vegetable oil (plus 24%) and tomato pulp (plus 23%).
This increase is explained by the fact that Portugal is “heavily dependent on foreign markets to guarantee the supply of cereals needed for domestic consumption”, which currently “represent only 3.5% of national agricultural production, mainly corn (56%), wheat ( 19%). %) and rice (16 percent).”
“And if in the early 1990s self-sufficiency in grain was about 50%, now the value does not exceed 19.4%, which is one of the lowest rates in the world and forces the country to import about 80% of grain. , notes DECO.
The organization explains that “the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where most of the grains consumed in the European Union come from, and Portugal has thus put even more pressure on the sector, which has been struggling for months with the effects of a pandemic and drought with a strong impact on production and stockpiling.
“Limiting the supply of raw materials and increasing the cost of production, namely the energy needed for agri-food production, can thus be reflected in higher prices in international markets and, consequently, in prices at the consumer,” he emphasizes.
In addition, he points out that “a consistent increase in consumer prices, namely for such products as fuel and food, contributes to an increase in the rate of inflation.”
