Spaniards have reduced their consumption of oil and fruits, and increased their consumption of other products such as meat and eggs. This is reflected in the latest data on food consumption at home that has just been published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), which shows how the increase in food prices has affected the population’s diet.

The report shows that the level of food and beverage purchases stabilized last November, with 0.4% more volume compared to the same month in 2022, despite the fact that the increase in the average price by 7% has led to spending 7.4% more.

Olive oil is the food that has experienced the most notable decrease in consumption (-14.8% annually), followed by bread (-3.1%) and fresh fruits (-2.2%). On the contrary, the intake of meat (10.3%), spirits (6.8%) and eggs (6.3%) has increased above all.

Greater consumption of fresh and frozen meat explains the growth in demand, in contrast to the lower purchase of processed meat. The fishing sector has also benefited, with a 3.6% increase in the purchase volume of fishing products.

On the opposite side, olive oil has lost up to 34.7% of the liters consumed as a result of its high price, while sunflower oil has gained 21%.

Data from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs also shows a reduction in spending on bread, with 2% less than in November 2022, while it has increased in the rest of the products, led by spirits (14.6%) and meat (13.4%).

Fresh fruit has lost importance in the shopping basket, where the increase in volume consumption of bananas, kiwi and other fruits has not been able to compensate for the drop in oranges, tangerines, apples and pears.

Other conclusions are that Spanish households have incorporated a greater quantity of packaged drinking water (3.7%), ciders (19.6%) and spirits (6.8%), but have reduced the purchase of beer (-3 .5%) and, to a lesser extent, wine and wine-derived beverages (-0.6%) and soft drinks and soft drinks (-0.7%).

Regarding the last moving year until last November, families have decreased their level of purchases of food and beverages for domestic consumption by 1.5%, while the market has grown 8.9% due to the increase of the average price by 10.6%.

The meat sector has incorporated 4.3% more purchasing volume compared to the previous moving year and the egg sector has experienced an increase of 7.7%, while the acquisition of fishery products has contracted by 4. % due to lower consumption in all segments.

At the end of the moving year in November, households have purchased 3.4% less liquid milk and dairy derivatives, together with lower purchases of bread (-1.7%), sugar (-1.9%) and legumes (-1.9%).

Households have also cut their oil purchases by 4.9%, especially due to the 15.1% drop in the volume of olive oils, while fresh products, especially fresh fruits, have continued to decline (-2 .6%).

The beverage segment has not evolved favorably either, according to MAPA, which has highlighted the contractions in demand for wine and its derived beverages (-5.4%), spirits (-3.7%) and soft drinks and soft drinks (-2.5%), compared to the slight increase in the consumption of bottled water (-0.6%).