Grocery Inflation: Revealing Which Countries Have Seen Food Prices Increase The Most
It’s no secret that shopping isn’t as cheap as it once was. The ongoing turbulent financial landscape across much of the world has, unfortunately, meant that necessary essentials – such as our weekly grocery shop – have rapidly increased in price. We’re all feeling the pinch to our pockets right now, as many countries continue to remain on the edge of a recession, but just how much has inflation impacted our shopping costs on an everyday level?
Ubuy wanted to find out more about the way inflation has affected the price of our grocery store essentials in differenat countries over time. To do this, we gathered the cost data for everyday household food items in member-countries of the European Union (EU), United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and Canada. We then used this data to calculate the percentage change over a 12-month period, in the 3 years since the pandemic, and over a 5-year span.
In doing so, we hoped to reveal how inflation has impacted the food commerce and e-commerce industry in recent times, and which countries were the most or least affected by inflation when it comes to their grocery shopping.
Methodology
Food items were selected to represent foods that would be considered essential in a typical household's grocery shopping basket. The selected countries include member-countries of the European Union, United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and Canada.
Price indices for individual food items and categories were sourced from official statistics websites of the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and Canada. Inflation in prices was calculated as a relative percentage difference between the average index value in 2023, compared to the average index value in the same period of 2022 (12-month inflation), 2019 (inflation since the pandemic), and 2018 (5-year inflation). For Australia, where the most recent consumer price index data is from Q4 2022, the comparisons were made to 2021 (12-month inflation), 2019 (inflation since the pandemic), and 2017 (5-year inflation).
Annual index values were aggregated using the mean average of the respective price index values across a given year. For 2023, the average index value is based on price indices for the first 3 months of the year. To estimate which products went up in price the most, the average % increase in index value was taken across all the countries in the dataset.
All data was collected in April 2023.
International Inflation - Average 12-Month Price Inflation Of 18.2%
Before we begin breaking down the statistics for each country, it’s important to contextualize the average inflation rates across each of the countries included in our research. Overall, across all of the countries studied, food items saw an inflation increase of 18.2% in a 12-month period. This rate was 30.8% over 3 years, and 36.3% across a 5-year span. Generally, for most countries included in the research, food cost inflation gained momentum in the past 3 years following the pandemic.
Internationally, the food item that has seen the biggest increase in a 12-month period is sugar. This commodity has seen inflation rise by 45.7% on average across each of the countries researched. Similarly, eggs have seen a 12-month average increase of 31.3% across each country.
Canada - Average 12-Month Price Inflation Of 8.9%
Canada has seen the second-lowest overall regional food price inflation over a 12-month period, recording an 8.9% increase. This is significantly lower than the international 12-month average inflation of 18.2% across each of the countries researched. Similarly, in the 3 years since the pandemic (2019), inflation on all food items has increased by 21.0% – vastly different from the international average of 30.8%.
Over a 5-year period since 2018, general food price inflation has seen an increase of 25.1%, in contrast to the international average of 36.3%. Generally speaking, Canada has fared better than the majority of countries in the study in terms of how inflation has affected their food costs.
In terms of individual products that saw the largest increase in cost, edible oils (excluding olive oil) recorded a 19.3% increase in 12 months. These products saw an increase of just under half (49.3%) in 3 years, with the price inflation increasing by 50.9% in a 5-year period.
Pasta products and couscous saw the second-highest inflation across a 12-month period, rising in price by 14.2%. Similarly, the products saw an increase of over a third (33.2%) over 3 years, and 37.1% over a 5-year span. Despite both products recording significant increases over time, both were still well below the international average in each of the 3 time-frames.
The United States - Food Items See 12-Month Average Price Inflation Of 8.5%
The United States has seen the lowest overall food price inflation across 12 months (8.5%) out of any of the regions studied. This is in comparison to an international 12-month average inflation of 18.2% across each of the countries researched. In the 3 years since the pandemic (2019), inflation on all food items has increased by 24.1%, just 6% lower than the international average of 30.8%.
Finally, over a 5-year period since 2018, U.S. inflation has increased on food items by 26.4%, compared to the international rate of 36.3%. Interestingly, this implies that the majority of food price inflation has taken place over the past 3 years since the pandemic, with 5-year inflation only 2.3% higher than the 3-year average.
In terms of individual products that saw the largest increase in cost, eggs saw the highest increase over a 12-month period – with inflation increasing by over a third (36.0%). Shockingly, these widely-used cooking components had seen an increase of 83.2% over 3 years – significantly higher than the international average of 46.2% – and a 64.8% increase over a 5-year period.
Similarly, bread recorded a staggering 15.2% increase in just 12 months – with the popular sandwich component seeing an increase of over a quarter (27.6%) over 3 years, and just under one-third (31.0%) over 5 years. Interestingly, despite seeing such significant price inflation, the U.S. still recorded lower inflation than the international average in all 3 time frames.
Australia - Average 12-Month Price Inflation Of 9.0%
In Australia, the price of food items has seen an overall increase in the cost of food items of 9.0% – the third-lowest increase out of the regions studied. This is an increase of just half of the international 12-month average inflation of 18.2%. Similarly, the country saw food price inflation on all food items increase by 11.9% over a 3-year period – vastly different from the international average of 30.8%.
Over a 5-year period, Australia has recorded an increase across all food items of just 15.7% – significantly lower than any of the countries covered so far. This is in comparison to the international average of 36.3%.
The individual product that recorded the highest increase in cost over 12 months was edible oils (excluding olive oil). These products saw an increase of 21.0% in 12 months, with a 3-year increase of 20.5% and a 5-year increase of 28.8%.
Similarly, cheese and curds saw inflation increase by 14.0% in a 12-month period, with prices rising by 14.0% overall in 3 years. This increased by just 4.8% to 18.8% over a 5-year span. For both products, Australia was well below the international average for inflation.
The United Kingdom - Average 12-Month Price Inflation Of 19.6%
The UK recorded the joint-highest overall inflation on food items across 12 months, with prices rising by 19.6%. This is 1.4% higher than the international average of 18.2%. The country also saw food price inflation on all food items increase by 28.2% over a 3-year period – just slightly lower than the international average of 30.8%.
Across a 5-year period, the UK saw food items increase in cost by 29.1% – just 7.2% lower than the international average of 36.3%. Once again, this seems to suggest that the majority of the United Kingdom’s inflation has taken place over the past 3 years, with the 5-year figures being only 0.9% higher.
In terms of individual products, the item with the highest increase in 12 months was olive oil – recording a 12-month increase of 42.1%. The UK recorded a far higher 12-month inflation on olive oil than the international average (20.8%).
Olive oil saw an increase of just under half across a 3-year period since the pandemic (49.9%), with the 5-year figures showing a 47.2% increase overall since 2018. Interestingly, the 5-year inflation rate is 2.7% lower than the figures from 2019.
Similarly, sugar saw a 12-month increase of 42.0%, making it the second-highest increase for the UK. Over 3 years, the cost of sugar has increased by 43.7% – with the 5-year inflation increase being 44.3%.
The European Union - Average 12-Month Price Inflation Of 19.6%
The European Union (EU) recorded an average overall food item inflation over 12 months of 19.6% – 1.4% higher than the international average of 18.2%. The EU is the joint-highest region for average food item inflation across 12 months.
The region also saw food inflation increase by 29.9% over the 3 years since the pandemic. Finally, the 5-year inflation figures show that the EU as a whole has seen food items increase by 35.2% – 4.4% higher than the international average of 30.8%.
In terms of individual EU member countries, Hungary recorded the highest 12-month inflation at 45.1% – with 3-year inflation at 80.3% and 5-year inflation at 98.5%. Hungary’s inflation rates are far higher than any other EU member country. Overall, the country has seen significant increases in inflation across all food groups over a 12-month period, with bread increasing by 67.7%, alongside butter (67.9%), eggs (74.0%), cheese and curds (66.3%) and pasta products (53.9%).
Following in second place for the highest inflation in a 12-month period was Slovakia, which saw the average cost of food items increase by 29.1%. Similarly, the country recorded a 3-year inflation rate of 45.0% and 5-year inflation of 57.7%. In Slovakia, the most expensive product to buy was eggs – which saw a 12-month inflation of 79.0%. This was followed by sugar (67.0%), potatoes (40.3%), and edible oils excluding olive oil (39.6%).
Other EU countries with higher 12-month inflation included:
- Lithuania (27.5%)
- Serbia (27.2%)
- Estonia (25.5%)
- Poland (25.1%)
- Czech Republic (24.6%)
Each of these countries had inflation rates that were far higher than the international average (18.2%).
Meanwhile, of all the EU member countries, Cyprus recorded the lowest 12-month inflation at just 6.1% – 12.1% below the international average (18.2%). The country saw inflation rise by 16.9% over a 3-year period, with 5-year inflation reaching 19.4% – far lower than the international average (36.3%).
Conclusion
In this research, we were able to identify how inflation has affected the price of food items across the world – alongside highlighting which countries have been hit the hardest by inflation in recent years. Overall, the research highlighted just how drastically food costs have increased over the past 5 years – with many countries seeing increases close to, or even over, 50%.
With many countries feeling the pressures of inflation, consumers can potentially get a better deal on non-perishable goods by utilizing e-commerce to source them from overseas. At Ubuy, we’re proud to assist online shoppers with their international purchases, providing them with access to thousands of online stores around the world that would otherwise not be available to them due to regional limitations.