The prices of typical Christmas foods are already 5.2% more expensive than a year ago when there are still weeks left for the holidays, according to a study by the OCU. The advance of the month and the greater demand threaten to inflate the figures at a time when food inflation has been affecting households for months.
The only positive factor is that compared to what happened in 2021, the increases are being more moderate, but it does not save that most products become more expensive. Those that are doing it the most are red cabbage (32%), hake (16%), turkey (14%), round fish, pineapple and barnacles (13%) and prawns (11% more). Sea bass (6%), sea bream (3%), clams (2%) and suckling lamb (1%) also rose. “Fish and shellfish are now much more expensive than in previous years,” they point out from the consumer association.
The decreases, on the other hand, occur in products with lower consumption and in the premium sector, such as baby eels (23% cheaper than a year ago) and oysters (-17%). The price of Iberian bait ham (-4%) and pularda (-1%) also decreased.
If you look back to 2015 of the first year of the study, “most of these foods are now more expensive than they’ve ever been.” This is the case of clams, at an average price of 23.33 euros per kilo, sea bream with 48.66 euros, suckling lamb (18.63 euros), pineapple (1.81 euros), red cabbage (1.77 euros) or turkey (6.21 euros).
In this period, products are generally 42.4% more expensive. The increases are much more notable in some references, such as 149% of sea bream, 131% of eels, 79% of clams or 72% of hake.
“Only turkey and pularda have maintained a stable and more adjusted price over time,” it is pointed out. Both have become more expensive by 8% these years. Not a single product is cheaper.
The study has been carried out with the prices of 16 typical party products in supermarkets, hypermarkets, department stores and markets in ten Spanish cities. To close the comparison, a new price scan will be made in the middle of the month and a last one on the eve of the holidays.
