High energy and raw material prices
Pasta and Easter eggs are becoming more expensive
4/10/2022 8:56 am
Because of the Ukraine war, German pasta manufacturers are increasing prices. Easter eggs cost more this year because of high energy costs. Animal welfare also has its price, but there is no threat of bottlenecks. In the case of pasta, on the other hand, the supply to supermarkets is limited.
For Easter this year, consumers will have to dig a little deeper into their pockets for eggs. But you don’t have to reckon with empty egg shelves in German supermarkets. Bottlenecks should not arise on the European market as a whole either, as the EU is a net exporter of eggs. This is what Margit Beck from Marktinfo Eier & poultry expects. The German pasta manufacturers are meanwhile struggling with the consequences of the Ukraine war and are therefore also increasing their prices.
For decades, eggs have been characterized by the fact that they were virtually exempt from inflation and never became more expensive. But that is no longer the case. On average in 2021, ten barn eggs at shop level cost 1.55 euros, as Eiermarkt analyst Beck says. In 2020 it was still 1.36 euros, i.e. almost 20 cents less.
This is due to rising energy and feed prices as well as the Animal Welfare Act: the ban on killing male chicks that has been in force in Germany since January 1 makes keeping chickens more expensive. Male laying hen chicks have been killed after hatching for decades. Farms are now faced with the choice of either sorting out the eggs of male embryos by sex determination or rearing the roosters.
Customers hoard noodles
The pasta manufacturers in Germany are feeling the massive effects of the Ukraine war. According to the Association of the Grain, Milling and Starch Industry (VGMS), the energy supply, raw material procurement, packaging and logistics are affected. The companies would have to take the increased costs into account in their pricing, otherwise their continued existence would not be possible, said VGMS Managing Director Peter Haarbeck. He cannot say how high the price increases will be in the end.
A spokeswoman for the Swabian Maultaschen and Spätzle producer Bürger said: “Since we already have to pay higher prices for our high-quality raw materials, a price increase is unavoidable.” The company from the district of Ludwigsburg is currently in price negotiations with its trading partners. Raw materials, packaging materials, but also the transport costs increased extremely. According to the spokeswoman, suppliers are currently no longer able to supply citizens on the agreed terms.
Haarbeck also reported that pasta manufacturers are currently hardly able to keep up with demand from the retail trade. “Like at the beginning of the pandemic, people buy large quantities of pasta because they store very well.” The supply is guaranteed – but if people buy far more than necessary, it brings the logistics from the manufacturers to the supermarket to the edge of their capacities.