In the supermarket shelves, inflation continues to climb. In one year, it reached 16.2% despite the retailers’ commitment to controlling prices with the quarterly anti-inflation system put in place by the retailers. The figure comes from a study carried out by the Circana institute which provides information on the level of price increases in the food segment. In the space of thirty days alone, the till receipt increased by 1.8% between the end of February and the end of March.
Above all, this overall price increase has a strong impact on the most modest consumers. Inflation for entry-level products thus peaked at 21.1%. Distributor brands come close to 20% with 19.3%. National brands are also increasing their prices by 14.7%.
The price of frozen meat is skyrocketing
The general increase could reach 25% in June, over two years, according to expert forecasts compiled by Le Figaro. The figure is unprecedented! All this in a context where distributors are preparing to begin a round of negotiations with manufacturers, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire calling for their prices to be renegotiated as of May to take into account the recent drop in the prices of agricultural raw materials. and energy.
Concretely, it is all everyday products that are on fire. Among those most affected are frozen meat (31.6%), tissues (30.4%) and toilet paper (27.4%). Sugar (26.7%), crisps (24.7%), milk (24.7%), butter (24%), oil (24%) and cream (23.8%) complete the table. This has an immediate consequence: the French have lowered their consumption. Sales of FMCG, fruits and vegetables and fresh produce fell by 0.9% in volume in 2022, reports the institute Kantar.
Another phenomenon has been observed more recently: the decline in the quality of the products purchased. After having rather maintained an identical level of food consumption, cutting back on other items of expenditure, households seem to have changed their habits. Between the beginning of January and March 19, the volume of sales of national brands fell by 6.4% while the first prices rose by 10.3%, underlines the Circana Institute. A reflex already observed during the financial crisis of 2008 which had shaken much less supermarkets and large hexagonal surfaces.