A luxury product, plain yogurt? Not yet, but it might be. With a 12.5% increase since June, this great classic of family refrigerators is one of the items that has undergone a sharp price increase since June 2022. More than plain yogurt, it’s the whole tribe of products which now weighs heavily on household wallets: +6% on average for butter, +7% for Gruyère AOP, +11.6% for mozzarella and up to an additional 18% for yogurts alone vanilla.
“Production costs have exploded, which is partly explained by the war in Ukraine, confirms Reto Burkhardt, communication manager at the Federation of Swiss Milk Producers. In addition, the quantity of milk available in Switzerland is rather low, which has an influence on prices. Add to that the margin that retailers take and, at the end of the chain, it is the consumer who pays for these increases.”
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To better understand the extent of inflation raging on the shelves of Swiss supermarkets, the RTS data unit has been monitoring the prices of a typical basket of nearly 200 everyday consumer products, available at Coop and Migros, for several months. . And the observation is clear: two thirds of the items observed are more expensive today. Increases ranging from a few cents to several francs which, put end to end, begin to seriously inflate the amount indicated on the receipt.
“We are still receiving more complaints from consumers who are worried because these increases directly threaten their budget balance, warns Jean Busché, head of the economy at the Fédération romande des consommateurs. Inflation in Switzerland is certainly lower than in the rest of the country. Europe, but it concerns goods that we can hardly do without, such as dairy products, fruit and vegetables or even hygiene products.For the quintile of households that earn the least, these expenses are higher because they cannot be reduced. “
Indeed, cheese and yogurts are not the only ones to see their prices skyrocket. Sunflower oil, for example, has seen increases ranging from 11 to 18% depending on the brand. Ditto for olive oil: between 3 and 10% increase on average. Basic products such as flour (+3.4%), cane sugar (+16.2%) and white sugar (+30%) are also affected. Some outbreaks may seem anecdotal but illustrate the magnitude of the phenomenon: the batch of 6 bottles of Coca-Cola now sells for 9% more expensive than a few months ago. Another victim: beer, which saw its price inflate up to 7.5%.
A situation that should not improve immediately: “The economic situation of breweries remains tense in Switzerland, explains Christoph Lienert, deputy director of the Swiss Association of Breweries. The manufacturing process is energy intensive […]. Even if the breweries pursue all possible energy saving and optimization measures, the increase and extreme volatility of energy prices affect profitability. The shortage situation in the markets for raw materials, packaging and containers, combined with unpredictable delivery times, are also of great concern to local breweries.”
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On the fruit and vegetable side, organic suffers more. The kilo of courgettes, for example, has increased by 2.5 francs and aubergines by nearly 34%, going from 4.4 francs per kilo to 6 francs today. Frozen green beans saw their price jump by 10%.
“Organic is turning into a luxury product with inflation and becoming more difficult to access, still laments Jean Busché. The risk is that the less well-off people turn to lower quality foodstuffs, which will once morest the values defended by the FRC. Guaranteeing access to healthy and sustainable food must remain everyone’s business. More generally, there is no transparency on prices: we do not know the margin that retailers are skimping on food and basic necessities, which becomes particularly problematic as part of the Swiss tighten their belts.”
Because it is also in the hygiene and cosmetics departments that inflation hurts the most. Some packs of toilet paper rolls cost 4 francs more than a few months ago, and Always sanitary napkins are up 75 cents. Same fight for toothpaste, shower gel, or even condoms, some ranges of which have increased by almost 20%. We have contacted certain manufacturers to obtain elements of explanation but we have not, for the moment, obtained an answer.
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Purchasing power: compare your receipt to that of previous months
Cecile Denayrouse
