The rise in food prices narrows margins and increases stress throughout the production chain – agriculture, industry and distribution – tensions that citizens will notice when shopping, at least until spring. At the end of 2021, the global crisis due to the rise in raw materials and transport is already reflected in the supermarket or traditional store bill, although the food sector has its particularities when reacting to inflation. The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 5% in December compared to the same month of 2020, while the general Spanish inflation rate was 6.5%, the highest since May 1992, according to the National Institute of Statistics. According to economic data, months of uncertainty and an escalation are expected in February and March.
On the part of the primary sector, the agrarian organizations have warned of the cost of the inputs and the narrowness in the negotiation of prices. The prices of raw materials are the most expensive in the “century”, since the year 2000, in the face of a supply situation comparable to that of the 1970s due to the oil crisis.
