Yet the costs and supply problems are increasing due to the war. Russia is an important supplier of oil and gas, Ukraine is important for the supply of nutrients such as wheat or sunflower oil. Until now, companies have not fully passed on their higher costs to consumers.
“That has everything to do with the fact that companies operate in a competitive market,” says Geert Langenus of the National Bank. “They may fear losing some customers if they overcharge the prices.”
A second problem that companies struggle with is rising wage costs, the result of rising inflation. “We assume there is some room to offset some of the cost increases through operating margins,” Langenus said.
Most companies do not expect the negative impact of the war in Ukraine to disappear anytime soon. Barely 16 percent think it will last less than 6 months, 25 percent suspect the effects will last up to a year, but 59 percent fear the effects will last longer than a year.
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