The end of the euro effect. Eurispes statistical survey on food prices in 2003

Food price growth has come to a standstill, while fruit and vegetable prices continue to rise. According to Eurispes statistical survey on food prices, the increase in the cost of food for Italian families has increased by 0.17% in four months, with a tendential growth rate of 0.52 per year. On the other hand, ISTAT records an increase of 0.84% for the same period, with an annual trend growth of 2.5%. This is five times higher than the one recorded by Eurispes. However, if we calculate the increase in food prices excluding alcoholic beverages, as Istat does, the Eurispes figure for the price increase for the four months is 0.43%, with an annual growth trend of 1.3%, about half of the 2.5 of the Istat figure. As in the Eurispes survey of December 2002, the difference is significant: at that time, Eurispes recorded a price increase for foodstuffs that was five times higher than that reported by the Central Statistics Institute, whereas today the price increase recorded by Eurispes for food products (excluding alcoholic beverages) in the period December 2002-April 2003 is 50% lower than that recorded by Istat in the corresponding period. The average price level has therefore increased by a very modest amount over the past four months, but it is also true that households have seen some prices rise much more, to the disadvantage, as it has been pointed out, of the quality of the food: in fact, it is mainly fresh food that has shown the most substantial increases.