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Food prices rose by 3.3% in just one month – in February. PHOTO: “24 HOURS”
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Annual inflation is already in double digits, reaching 10%, and that before the war in Ukraine began
As early as the second month of 2022, annual inflation is already in double digits, reaching 10%, and is virtually higher than all forecasts made so far. The monthly increase in prices in February was 1.4%, with food prices rising the most in the last month – 3.3%.
There has not been such a high inflation in our country since October 2008, ie. just when the global financial crisis was in full swing.
The latest forecasts so far have allowed the annual rise in prices to accelerate in March-April and then to calm down. The BNB quarterly review, for example, said that the annual rise in prices in Bulgaria would accelerate in the first half of the year, but then slow to 7.5% on an annual basis by the end of 2022.
The European Commission’s forecast from the beginning of February states that inflation in Bulgaria will accelerate to 6.3% this year, to fall to 3.9% next year. The state budget for 2022 itself is estimated at 5.6% average annual inflation and 4.8% GDP growth.
The February rise in our country does not reflect the war in Ukraine, which began on February 24, because the monitoring of prices is carried out by the NSI around the middle of the month and ends ten days before its end. The hysteria over gasoline and oil happened after that.
Vegetables have risen in price only in the shortest month of the year by as much as 11%, and in greenhouse production there is a shock increase, as expected and predicted by farmers.
Cucumbers, for example, rose in price by 17.4% in those 28 days, peppers by 23.3% and tomatoes by 27.4%. Greenhouse vegetable producers warned about this even before the New Year, when it became clear that high natural gas prices would force many of them to close their greenhouses or make their goods unsaleable.
Fruits also rose in price by 3% in February alone, which is quite uncharacteristic of the season when the last quantities of apples, oranges and other southern fruits stored in winter are sold on the market.
In February, many basic foodstuffs, whose prices have not been touched for a long time, became more expensive, albeit symbolically. For example, salt – by 2.1% per month, vinegar – by 1.6%, tea – by 1.5%, sugar – by 1.9%. The price of coffee is higher in just one month by 6.3%, and compared to a year earlier – by 12.5%. His problems began in the middle of last year, when the confusion of supply chains and the poor harvest caused forecasts for a drastic increase in its price, which is happening only now.
Statistics did not catch in February the higher price of oil, which in stores is already about BGN 6 per liter compared to BGN 4 until weeks ago. According to NSI data, sunflower oil rose by only 1% in February, while olive oil fell by 2.5% over the same period.
In fact, the hysteria over the oil really happened in March, when its retail price suddenly rose by 50%.
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