It is more and more expensive to buy fruits and vegetables. The average price of these products increased by 11% between 2021 and 2022, alerted Friday July 22 Rural Families consumer associationwhich publishes an annual observatory of the prices of everyday consumer goods.
“The conventional basket”as opposed to products from organic farming, “increased by 11%, i.e. twice as much as inflation, which is already very high”Reveals Rural Families in a press release.
The price of the fruit basket increased by 8% and that of vegetables by 15% for products from conventional agriculture. In organic, which is more expensive, the increases are less pronounced, with a 4% increase for fruit and a 3% drop in the price of vegetables.
watermelon, inflation star
The champion of conventional inflation is watermelon (+40% in one year) due in particular to “adverse weather conditions” to its production, particularly in Spain. Peach (+25%), pepper (+37%), vine tomato (+31%) or green beans (+21%) are also among the most inflationary products. Conversely, onions (-14%), apples (-7%) and carrots (-3%) are less expensive on average than the previous year.
In organic farming, peaches (+28%), lemons (+13%), watermelons (+11%) and peppers (+10%) are the products whose price has risen the most, while many vegetables have seen their prices stagnate or fall.
“The year 2022 will not mark the beginning of a fall in the price of fruit, whether conventional or organic”notes Rural families, for whom “The cause is essentially due to the inflationary shock also suffered by producers, which has generated a sharp increase in production and packaging costs”.
Inflation before 2022
The more limited increase in organic prices is explained, according to the association, by the lower use of inputs and above all by a greater difficulty in selling the production, consumers “seeming to have turned away from the most expensive food products”.
This inflation did not wait for the year 2022, according to the price statements of Rural Families: “From May 2012 to May 2022, the prices of fresh fruit increased by 42% and those of fresh vegetables by 37%. » At the same time food prices and the general consumer price index “increased by 15% and 13% respectively”.
Faced with this increase, the association calls on politicians to allocate a food check to “all those who are today excluded from healthy products for their health, for lack of sufficient budget”.