Price increases for everyday essentials have become increasingly visible in recent months. Since the pandemic, inflation has pushed up the cost of daily items, forcing households to stretch every euro to fill the pantry. In plain terms, household budgets tighten as meal planning becomes tighter and supermarket receipts grow higher with each trip.
Looking ahead, projections for the current year suggest that over a four-year horizon, the typical Valencian Community family could see its annual food budget rise by at least 1,247 euros. These projections come from technicians collaborating with the Council of Chambers of Commerce, which analyzes how inflation affects household economies across autonomous communities.
Across all sectors, including energy and fuel, inflation has driven up the cost of living. In 2022, the average family needed to allocate as much as 1,717 euros more to purchase the same goods and services compared with the previous year. Roughly a third of that increase, about 525 euros, was primarily driven by higher prices for food and beverages.
Vegetables on a market stall in the province. david revenge
To provide perspective, total annual expenses in this category reached 5,089 euros per household, representing about 17.1 percent of disposable income. That marks a three-point rise in the share of family budgets devoted to food since 2019, before the pandemic and related events sent prices spiraling upward.
To gauge scale, researchers tracked 674 products monitored by the Department of Agriculture’s Food Consumption Panel and verified up to date. About 80 percent of the foods and beverages included had higher prices, with some items rising by more than 40 percent, notably flour during certain periods.
Consequences of inflation: heating costs stretch Alicante residents
Inflation does not stop at groceries. For the current year, Pateco’s calculations predict the shopping cart will require an additional 304 euros, based on inflation forecasts from key policy groups. These forecasts, including those from Funcas, assume food prices could rise another 8.7 percent. If earlier increases from 2020 and 2021 are folded into the picture, the total comes to 1,247 euros.
Vulnerable families
Despite inflation affecting everyone, the study highlights that households with lower incomes bear a larger burden as food costs consume a bigger slice of their budgets. For example, families whose main income comes from subsidies or unemployment benefits allocate a noticeably greater portion to food. Retirees also feel the impact, with food costs occupying a larger share of their total income.
The report notes that food is among the group of non-deferrable expenses alongside housing and health. As a result, households already spending a large share of their salary on groceries have less room to cut back on other types of spending when food prices rise.
Vegetarian a feeder. david revenge
Another finding shows that the climb in grocery costs disproportionately affects those with tighter budgets, reducing the ability to absorb sudden price jumps without sacrificing other essentials.
One in three Alicante businesses plans to raise prices this quarter
As a consequence, economists concluded that the increase in the shopping cart price had a particularly strong impact for about a year. Around 23.6 percent of households in the autonomous community, roughly 480,000 people, live in poverty or face the risk of poverty, underscoring the widespread challenges caused by inflation.
The study also evaluates the impact of the Shopping Cart Bonus, a program initially launched by the regional government that provides a 90 euro card to spend on core products. Preliminary estimates suggest this measure may offset about 9.1 percent of the food inflation experienced in 2023.
Changes in energy providers rose in response to higher bills as households sought to control fixed expenses. In electricity, about 14.5 percent shifted contracts last year, a rise of five percentage points from two years earlier. In gas, changes affected 11.2 percent of consumers, up 61 percent from 2020. Yet many people still find the switching process challenging.
Overall, the patterns highlight how inflation drives both consumer behavior and policy responses as families seek stability in their monthly budgets.
CITED SOURCES: Pateco study, Council of Chambers of Commerce, Funcas, Department of Agriculture’s Food Consumption Panel.