Global shoppers to face more price hikes this year

Global shoppers to face more price hikes this year

Global shoppers to face more price hikes this year. Photo by Ross Helen Shutterstock.com

People around the world will pay more for groceries in 2023 as analysts warn of further price hikes 

Shoppers globally will be faced with a tough choice this year, as the prices of commodities are expected to further increase, in comparison to 2022. 

These predictions made by analysts come as retailer and consumer goods producers have been facing difficulties negotiating their prices for over a year now, with problems that first started in 2021, due to supply chain problems related to COVID.  

According to Reuters, retailers, consumer goods firms and investors are warning about this price rise, “unless commodity costs decline or the shift to cheaper store-brand products accelerates”.  

Since 2021, the problems over negotiating the high prices have stemmed due to the rise in prices of raw materials as well as energy, after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.  

This resulted in a huge increase in the cost of living across Europe as basic commodities such as bread, milk, and meat continued to become more and more expensive.  

As per estimates by the research firm Kantar, people in the UK paid a record 16.7 percent more for food during the first four weeks of January 2023, in comparison to the same period in 2022.  

The U.S. food index also reported a hike of 10 percent at the end of December 2022.  

The increase in prices also resulted in several products disappearing from the shelves of Britain´s biggest supermarket group Tesco, after a disagreement over prices with Kraft Heinz.  

Other products such as Unilever’s Hellmann’s mayonnaise was also discontinued in South Africa, due to the rising cost of inflation.  

 World´s largest food group Nestle has also announced that it would be raising its prices, due to higher production costs in 2022.  

In a statement made by the company´s CEO Mark Schneider, Nestle said that it has yet to pass on the increase in the cost of production last year, to its consumers.  

“Investors will pay a premium for companies that exhibit pricing power in their portfolio without adversely impacting volumes and market share,” Jack Martin, a fund manager at Oberon Investments”, said Schneider.  

Companies involved in producing packaged goods have been facing major problems due to higher costs of manufacturing after the costs of ingredients such as wheat and sunflower oil have surged since the war began in Ukraine.

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Written by

Imran Khan

A journalist, content professional, and former TEDx Speaker based in Tarragona (Spain), with a Master's in International Journalism (Cardiff, UK). Imran is an online reporter for The Euro Weekly News and covers international as well as Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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