One value is lime, one is sand. This is the feeling left by Alicante’s latest March CPI data. Inflation in the region shows a dual picture: overall consumer prices eased to 3.2 percent, thanks largely to cheaper electricity and fuel, yet food prices keep surging, making groceries around 16.6 percent more expensive than a year earlier. The outlook for the coming months looks mixed, with experts predicting a gradual, modest drop in food prices rather than a quick reversal.
February’s figures set the annual inflation at 6.3 percent, so March’s decline is mainly driven by energy’s continued downward movement, now about 20.8 percent cheaper than March last year. Transportation also cooled, slipping by roughly 4 percent.
On the downside, food costs, which trimmed inflation by three-tenths from February to March, remain stubborn. Sugar is now about 43 percent higher than a year ago; milk up 30.2 percent; oils up 27.2 percent; legumes and vegetables up 24.8 percent; eggs up 22.8 percent; and grains rising in a similar pattern.
In other sectors, increases are substantial: alcoholic beverages and tobacco up 9.3 percent, restaurants and hotels up 7.4 percent, furniture and household goods up 7.3 percent, with housing and shoes up around 4.9 percent.
Food prices rose 16.9 percent and inflation rose again
Assessing last month’s price trends, Ignacio Jiménez Raneda, former rector of the University of Alicante and professor emeritus of Fundamentals of Economic Analysis, notes that the year-over-year CPI decline is only part of the story. March last year marked a surge in energy costs tied to the Ukraine war, igniting the inflationary path. He explains that energy costs spreading through the economy push prices higher, but when energy eases, the pace slows elsewhere. He expects food prices to fall in the coming months, albeit only slightly. He also warns that drought could shrink agricultural output, countering the downward trend.
Fernando Moner, president of the Valencian Consumers and Users Association, hopes that public measures and initiatives like Mercadona’s price reductions on 500 essential products will help ease the shopping bill. He emphasizes that families are facing tight budgets, even more so with rising mortgage costs. Moner adds that supermarkets are not exploiting margins, suggesting that pricing pressure is spread more broadly rather than concentrated in a few firms.
The Generalitat has announced a period to claim a shopping cart bonus, opening April 20. The Consell confirmed this program, running from April 20 to July 14. Eligible residents can use a card to spend 90 euros on food at any participating establishment. Requirements include residency in the Community and an annual income under 21,000 euros in 2021. A total of 48.44 million euros has been allocated for this measure. Mortgage assistance was also approved, offering 600 euros for incomes below 25,200 euros and 300 euros for those earning up to 33,600 euros, with an initial allocation of six million euros.