Almost half IVA-cut products now more expensive

The FACUA consumer association carried out a new follow-up in July on the evolution of almost a thousand foods affected by the IVA reduction in eight large distribution chains. Almost half of the products analysed by the association have already raised their price with respect to what they had at the beginning of the year once the standard was applied.

Taking into account that in April, May and June there were four out of ten, these almost five out of ten this month confirm that the inflationary escalation in basic foods is continuing, although at a slower rate than that registered in the first quarter of the year. It should be remembered that in March there were one in three who had become more expensive, and in February one in five.

FACUA is going to extend the complaints that it already filed in January, February, March, April, May and June 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.

Almost a thousand prices analysed

The association, as it has been doing monthly, has reviewed the evolution of 985 prices in these eight distribution chains. The new analyses have been carried out on July 3, 4 and 5. In them it has detected that in 463, that is, 47%, 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 be used 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 number of products with increases in Aldi continues to increase

This month of July, the greatest number of anomalies has been detected again in Aldi, where 36 of the total of 60 prices analysed (60%) have become more expensive. It is followed by Carrefour, with 86 more expensive products than on December 30 out of a sample of 162 prices (53%).

Alcampo, for its part, has increased 68 of the 133 prices analysed (51%), while Eroski has done so in 61 of the 130 foods collected in this study (47%). The association has detected 79 more expensive prices in Hipercor out of a total of 167 foods (47%) while in Dia 58 items of the 128 contemplated have become more expensive (45%).

The two chains where the lowest percentage of price increases have been registered are Lidl, with 28 products out of the total of 65 included in the analysis (43%) and Mercadona, with 47 increases among the 140 prices registered (33%).

This total of 463 more expensive prices represents an increase compared to the 447 detected in June on a similar sample (985 this month compared to 999 last month). Therefore, in the last month there have been 16 prices most affected by the IVA reduction that have become more expensive compared to those that had already increased during the first six months of the year.

In Mercadona, Hipercor, Alcampo, Aldi, Lidl and Eroski, the total number of foods that have become more expensive compared to the month of June has increased. Carrefour and Dia are the only distributors where the percentage of prices with increases has decreased.

Fruits and vegetables lead the rises

Of the total of 463 prices in which FACUA has detected a rise in its comparison, 151 correspond to fruits or vegetables (33% of the total), 92 are olive oils (20%) and 67 are rice and pasta (14%).

For their part, 66 price increases have been found among milk and dairy products (14%) and 38 among legumes (8%). The almost fifty remaining prices correspond to eggs, flour and bread.

Highest increases in the eight chains analysed

At Mercadona, the Sabroz round rice package went from 1.82 euro at the beginning of the year to 2.68 euro in June, an increase of 47.4%. At Hipercor, this same product has become even more expensive, going from 1.82 to 2.79 euro (an increase of 53.5%).

In Dia, the product that has become more expensive among those analysed has been a kilo bag of carrots, which has gone from 0.86 cents at the beginning of the year to 1.25 this July, representing a rise of 46%. The Aldi, the kilo of carrots has also increased its price by 34.3% so far in 2023 (from 0.85 euro in January to 1.15 euro in July). The kilo of this vegetable has also increased by 40.7% in Lidl, where it has gone from 0.81 euro in January to 1.15 euro in July.

In Alcampo, a kilo of Golden apples cost 1.34 euro during the first quarter of the year, while in July their price has shot up to 3.66 euro (an increase of 155.4%). At Eroski, a litre of Hojiblanca Coosur olive oil costs 9.42 euro in July, when in January its price was 5.69 euro (65% more expensive).

In Carrefour, a kilo of pomegranates was worth 1.91 euro in January, the IVA reduction already applied. At the beginning of this month of July, its price was 5.49 euro, 186.9% more expensive.

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