These food items are getting more expensive at Czech grocery stores

Prices of some basic foods have been rising sharply in Czechia. Staples such as butter, cheese, and bread all went up steeply in July.

From the start of the year to mid-July, the price of butter has risen by CZK 34.6 per kilo to reach CZK 249.5. In the year-on-year comparison, a kilo of butter became CZK 62.5 more expensive, according to the Czech Statistical Office (ĆSÚ).

The price of a brick of Edam cheese also weighed heavily on wallets. Customers spent about CZK 25 more for it in mid-July compared to January, totaling CZK 208.2 per kilogram. Compared to last year, it was CZK 44.9 more expensive. In percentage terms, the price of plain wheat flour rose most significantly, by 50.5 percent year on year to CZK 23.3.

The increases are causing people to change their shopping habits. “We can see that customers are increasingly inclined to promotional offers and discounts. This is a logical response to falling real incomes, rising inflation, and energy prices,” Jiří Mareček, director of communications at Albert stores, told the Czech News Agency (ČTK).

Food chains are preparing various promotions for customers, and people have recently shown more interest in membership in loyalty clubs, ČTK reported.

The year-on-year growth of consumer prices amounted to 17.5 percent in July. Consumer prices increased by 1.3 percent, month-on-month. Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose to 19.3 percent in the first seventh months of 2022.

People paid CZK 62.2 for a kilogram of white wheat bread as of July 17, up CZK 7.3 from the second week of January. In a year-on-year comparison, the price rose by CZK 15.4. A kilo of caraway bread cost CZK 35.9 in mid-July, up by CZK 5.6 since January and by CZK 10.4 compared to the middle of the seventh month last year.

People bought a carton of 10 eggs for CZK 40.3, compared to the beginning of the year they had to pay an extra CZK 4.4, and compared to last year about CZK 10 more.

The price of non-fat white yogurt rose only slightly by CZK 0.70 to reach CZK 10.6 for a 150-gram container. In mid-July, people bought a kilogram of potatoes for CZK 19.4, about CZK 1 more than in January. People paid CZK 1.4 more for a kilogram of apples, which reached CZK 37.

In the general category of food and non-alcoholic beverages, the ĆSÚ reported year-on-year growth of 19.3 percent in July. This shows an acceleration in inflation. Prices for the same category only rose 18.0 percent year on year in June.

Price growth of meat accelerated to 21.7 percent, cheese and curds to 20.5 percent, oils and fats to 53.4 percent. All of these items had larger year-on-year percentage increases than in June.

On the other hand, the rate of increase in the prices of potatoes slowed. They rose to 11.2 percent year on year in July compared to 24.3 percent year on year in June.

In a month-on-month comparison, meat in July increased by 1.7 percent compared to June, oils and fats rose by 6.8 percent, non-alcoholic beverages by 2.3 percent, bread and cereals by 1.2 percent, cheese and curds by 2.6 percent, and semi-skimmed milk by 5.3 percent.

Prices of vegetables fell by 2.2 percent, of which prices of potatoes were lower by 13.6 percent. Month-on-month price drops also occurred in alcoholic beverages and tobacco, where prices of spirits were lower by 1.4 percent and beer by 1.8 percent.