Will food prices go down, Economist?
Will food prices go down, Economist?
A daily chat about tomorrow / #30
P: Good morning, Economist.
E: Good morning, Photographer.
P: I was at the grocery store.
E: What an exciting life.
P: It was exciting! Prices there seem to have gone through the roof lately.
E: Your experience fits empirical evidence. Here is the corresponding chart from the European statistics agency Eurostat.
And in Germany, for example, food prices increased by 14.9 per cent between May 2022 and May 2023. That is significantly more than general inflation, which was 6.1 per cent during the same period.
P: Why?
E: Many factors are changing the agriculture and food industry situation. Energy, fertilizer and animal feed costs remain high, while labour shortages and minimum wages make personnel costs more expensive.
P: It sounds like there is no improvement in sight.
E: It will probably not get cheaper again, but the price increase is decreasing.
< silence>
P: You know the joke about filling up at the gas station and inflation?
E: Tell me.
P: One says to the other: I don't care about inflation, I always fill up for 50 euro anyway.
E: Hm.
P: My father used to tell me that joke back then. Just not with euro, but mark.
E: Those were probably different times.
P: They probably were. Have a nice day, Economist.
E: You too, Photographer.
Future Economist and Contemporary Photographer sometimes go their own ways – the economist here, the photographer there.
Tell your friends!