Why has food increased in price so much?

The increase in food prices in the previous period was mostly influenced by the increase in food prices on global commodity exchanges, as well as the drought last summer.

This was stated by Deputy Managing Director of the Sector for Economic Research and Statistics of the National Bank of Serbia, Milan Trajkovic.

At the February presentation of the inflation report, at the request of a reporter to clarify the rise in food prices and inflation in previous months, he said that the December year-on-year inflation was 7.9 percent, while the rise in food prices was part of that inflation.

He pointed out that the main factor in the increase in food prices was the growth in global prices, and that since the beginning of the pandemic, the price of grains increased by 45%.

„These are commodity exchange goods and when they become more expensive, their prices on the domestic market automatically increase,“ said Trajkovic.

He added that the global prices of oilseeds, primarily soybeans and sunflowers, increased by 80 percent in two years, and that that directly affected the prices of oils and numerous products in the field of processed food.

There was another factor that is impossible to influence, and that is drought. When it comes to estimates for the next period, the new agricultural season is expected to be average and slightly better than the previous one, and the prices of both processed and unprocessed foods should drop, he said.

Izvor: Tanjug,Politika

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