4 out of 10 IVA reduced foods more expensive than when the measure came into force

FACUA-Consumers in Action has carried out a follow-up on the evolution of almost 1,000 food prices affected by the IVA reduction in eight large distribution chains, the results of which reveal that four out of ten of the products analysed by the association have increased in price, which is why the inflationary escalation continues, taking into account that in March there were one in three that had become more expensive, and in February one in five.

Given these facts, FACUA is going to expand the complaints that it already filed in January, February and March before the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC), which to date has not given any kind of response. The complaints will again be directed against all the chains under analysis: Alcampo, Aldi, Carrefour, Dia, Eroski, Lidl, Hipercor and Mercadona.

The association, as it has been doing monthly, has reviewed the evolution of 991 prices in these eight distribution chains. The new analyses have been carried out on April 3, 4, 5 and 11. In them it has detected that in 416 cases, that is, 42%, the price has become more expensive compared to what they had on December 30, once the IVA reduction was applied.

Article 72 of Royal Decree-Law 20/2022, of December 27, states in its section 3 that ” the reduction in the tax rate will fully benefit the consumer, without, therefore, the amount of the reduction being able to dedicate totally or partially to increase the business profit margin with the consequent increase in prices in the production, distribution or consumption chain of the products”.

FACUA criticises the Government’s lack of transparency regarding the studies announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food through its price observatory. To date, not only have no data been disclosed about their conclusions, but also about how many establishments, how many prices and on what dates the analyses are being carried out. In fact, the Ministry of Agriculture has not even confirmed if it is actually carrying them out.

Aldi, where they are most expensive; Mercadona, less

This April, the largest number of anomalies have been detected at Aldi, where 29 of the total 57 prices analysed have become more expensive (50.8%). It is followed by Carrefour, with 82 more expensive products than on December 30 out of a sample of 167 prices (49.1%).

Alcampo, for its part, has increased 62 of the 133 prices analysed (46.6%), while Hipercor has done so in 77 of the 166 foods collected in this study (46.3%). The association has detected 25 more expensive prices in Lidl out of a total of 56 foods (44.6%), while in Dia 56 items of the 139 considered have become more expensive (40.2%).

The two chains where the lowest percentage of price increases have been registered are Eroski, with 42 products out of the total of 129 included in the analysis (32.5%) and Mercadona, with 43 increases among the 144 prices registered (29, 8%).

This total of 416 more expensive prices in April contrasts with the 312 detected in March and the 178 in February on a very similar sample (991 this month for the 1,012 in March and the 1,020 in February). That is to say, in barely a month there have been more than a hundred products affected by the IVA reduction that have increased their price.

Fruits and vegetables, the most affected

Of the total of 416 prices in which FACUA has detected a rise in its comparison, 152 correspond to fruits or vegetables (36.5% of the total), 80 are olive oils (19.2%) and 63 are milk or dairy (15.1%).

For their part, 54 price increases have been found among rice and pasta (12.9%) and 33 among legumes (7.9%). The thirty remaining prices correspond to eggs, flour and breads.

Onions, carrots and lettuce, among the products that rise the most

The biggest price increases in the last month correspond, as usual, to fruits or vegetables. Specifically, onions, carrots and iceberg lettuce have become more expensive in almost all supermarkets.

At Mercadona, the 2-kilo mesh of onions has gone from 2.39 euro in January (already with the IVA reduction applied) to 3.99 euro in March, representing a 66.9% increase in cost.

In Dia, the 3-kilo mesh of washed potatoes has increased its price by 49.2%, going from 2.88 euro in January to the current 4.29 euro, while the one-kilo bag of carrots has gone from 0,86 to 1.25 euro, which means a 46% increase in cost.

At Hipercor, the kilo of Buti onions is 62.8% more expensive than when the IVA reduction came into effect last January (from 1.53 to 2.49 euro). In Alcampo, the kilo of tube onions has also risen by 59.8% in these months (from 1.43 to 2.29 euro).

At Aldi, buying two kilos of its El Mercado brand onions now costs 3.79 euro, while at the beginning of the year it was worth 2.39 euro (58.3% less). At Eroski, the kilo of this product is also what has increased in price the most, up to 65.7% compared to its value in January (from 1.49 to 2.47 euro).

At Carrefour, the kilo of pomegranate continues to be the most flagrant case with an increase of 160.7% (from 1.91 euro in January to 4.99 euro in April). Lidl, both onions and iceberg lettuce, have raised their price this month by more than 50% compared to what it was in January.

FACUA points out that the data shows once again the need for the Government to set maximum prices for basic foods, something for which it is empowered as established in article 13 of the 1996 trade law.

It is evident, warns the association, that the drop in IVA on some products has had an extraordinarily slight effect on the shopping cart given the brutal increase in prices that has occurred in the last year.

Article 72 of Royal Decree-Law 20/2022, of December 27, states in its section 3 that “the reduction in the tax rate will fully benefit the consumer, without, therefore, the amount of the reduction being able to dedicate totally or partially to increase the business profit margin with the consequent increase in prices in the production, distribution or consumption chain of the products”.

The post 4 out of 10 IVA reduced foods more expensive than when the measure came into force appeared first on Spain Today – Breaking Spanish News, Sport, and Information.