Overview
- Official data show November food inflation at 1.2% year over year, with headline inflation at 2.3%, masking steep swings across product categories.
- Butter prices fell 22% versus a year earlier, and discounters cut 250‑gram packs to about €0.99 in December after increased milk supply and higher fat content reduced production costs.
- Other items became far more expensive, including chocolate (+25.9%), frozen fruit (+25.6%), coffee (+22.5%) and minced beef (+22.4%), driven by poor harvests, higher raw material prices and rising energy and production costs.
- Farm groups decry steep retailer cuts as loss‑leading “lock offers,” urge Bundeskartellamt review and press Agriculture Minister Alois Rainer to intervene, while retailers cite an exceptional oversupply of raw milk.
- A Forsa survey for the consumer federation finds 45% of people limiting food purchases, rising to about 70% in households under €2,000 net monthly income, and the group proposes a price observatory and doubts the restaurant VAT cut will ease household strain.