As the Franceinfo site explains, inflation continued to rise in January. It is 15.6% over one year on the franceinfo shopping basket, i.e. one point more in one month.
By consulting the situation in the Alpes-Maritimes department, we see that the 1kg packet of sugar (first price) is the second product that has experienced the greatest increase in one year, namely 41.04% over one year. , just following the kilo of first price flour (+41.69%) and ahead of private label frozen steaks (+31.36%).
On the Var side, the kilo of sugar (first price) is the product in the franceinfo basket that has increased the most, namely +44.12% over one year. It is followed by first price flour (+43.09%) and steaks (+31.96%).
“In January 2023, the price of sugar is on average 1.30 euros, i.e. an increase of 35 cents in one month”, specifies franceinfo. An increase which, suddenly, also affects products such as sweet biscuits, confectionery, jam.
Why such an increase?
Because the price of sugar on international markets has never been so high as in the last three months of 2022. It has almost doubled compared to April 2020.
For Christian Spiegeleer, the resident of the National Union of Sugar Manufacturers of France (SNFS) interviewed by our colleagues, this is a “catching up with an abnormally low price phase”a consequence of the 2017 European sugar reform. As of October 1, 2017, a reform of the sugar market in Europe had led to the abandonment of guaranteed tariffs for beet growers.
The other explanation lies in the actions of the two largest sugar producers in the world: India and Brazil. India has introduced export quotas for this commodity and on the Brazilian side, the severe floods of 2022 have damaged the sugar cane plantations.
Faced with the increase in the price of hydrocarbons, Brazil has also preferred to turn to ethanol, also produced from sugar cane.
The war in Ukraine is also impacting this market because in order to remain attractive in the face of the explosion in the price of cereals (beet growers are also cereal growers), sugar producers have increased the remuneration of sugar beet-producing farmers.
Finally, there is the increase in the price of energy, gas and electricity, but also that of fertilizers (from three to seven times more expensive).
The recent ban on neonicotinoids, decided recently, might also have an impact.
