fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Food Inflation › Article

Why are grocery prices still eye-watering, despite moderate inflation?

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · · 1190 words · By Una Hajdari
Food Inflation European Economy Cost of Living
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Ready to play
Daily briefing

What to know about Food Inflation

Food inflation has fallen sharply from its 2023 peak — but European grocery prices are nearly a third higher than before the pandemic, and the reasons they stay high are structural.

Claims checked 22
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left17%
Center66%
Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Food inflation has fallen sharply from its 2023 peak — but European grocery prices are nearly a third higher than before the pandemic, and the reasons they stay high are structural.

Why it matters

Inflation is down, the European Central Bank is (largely) satisfied and the knock-on effects of the Iran war are mostly being kept under control for now.

Common ground

So why does a trip to the supermarket still feel like a small act of financial self-harm?

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/business/2026/05/31/why-your-grocery-bill-is-still-eye-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 22 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 12
info Single Source 5
verified Verified By Reference 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info
Claim 1: “In Germany, wages rose 4.0% while food inflation sat at just 2.2%”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is explicitly confirmed by one web search result ('Why are grocery prices still eye-watering...'), but no other independent sources are provided to corroborate it.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In Germany, wages rose 4.0% while food inflation sat at just 2.2%, meaning retailers were absorbing part of the difference, but only part.
https://www.euronews.com/business/2026/05/31/why-your-grocer…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Why Everyone is Worried About Inflation I'm hearing a lot about inflation lately, so I want to break it down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIbNJCSCEjk
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Free inflation calculator that runs on U.S. CPI data or a custom inflation rate.While inflation is not entirely good or bad depending on whether it is moderate or severe, deflation, the opposite of in…
https://www.calculator.net/inflation-calculator.html
verified
Claim 2: “In transportation and storage... wages rose 4.3% in 2022 and 6.3% during the first three quarters of 2023.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The evidence provides general information on minimum wages and UK salaries, but contains no specific data regarding wage increases in the transportation and storage sector for 2022 or 2023.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Harmon Leon Wages (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1960s and 1970s. He p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmon_Wages
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of the official minimum wage rates of the 193 United Nations member states and former members of the United Nations, also including the following territories and states with limited rec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_minimum_w…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — In the United States, the minimum wage is set by federal U.S. labor law and a range of state and local laws. The first federal minimum wage was instituted in the National Industrial Recovery Act of 19…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage_in_the_United_Sta…
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 3: “In Romania, households spend roughly 25% of their income on food and non-alcoholic beverages, according to Eurostat national accounts data. In Bulgaria, the figure is around 21%, and in Latvia 20%.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 4: “S&P Global analysis likewise noted that over half of rated European retailers would be unable to restore their pre-pandemic margins even by 2025.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 5: “McKinsey's 2026 European grocery report puts average EBIT margins in the sector at just 2.8%”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 6: “Across Europe, labour costs rose 5.1% on average in 2025... according to McKinsey's State of Grocery Europe 2026 report.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While one source mentions hourly labor costs in the Euro Area rose 3.3% in Q4 2025, there is no mention of a 5.1% average increase or a 'McKinsey State of Grocery Europe 2026' report.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Dec 17, 2025 · Hourly labor costs in the Euro Area rose 3.3% year-over-year in Q4 2025, slowing slightly from an upwardly revised 3.4% in Q3. Wages and ...
https://tradingeconomics.com/euro-area/labour-costs
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The EU employment rate – was 75.8% in 2024. the employment rate for people aged 20 to 64 rose in 21 of the EU countries, was unchanged in 1 and fell in the ...
http://www.efta.int/sites/default/files/uploads/2025-07/Key+…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — EU annual inflation rose to 2.6% in September 2025, followed by Estonia (5.3%) According to Eurostat, the EU's employment rate rose to 76.2% in the second ...
https://www.businesseurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Eco…
schedule
Claim 7: “staff projections placing it [food inflation] at "rates somewhat above 2%" through that year [2027].”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 8: “France recorded food inflation of just 0.7% in 2025, and Romania recorded 6.7%.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 9: “Eggs surged 20% or more in five EU countries, including 29% in Czechia and 27% in Slovakia.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 10: “Hungary sits at 204.56, meaning food prices have more than doubled since 2015. Estonia is at 180, Lithuania at 177 and Poland at 174. France, by contrast, sits at 135.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 11: “The ECB's own wage tracker projects negotiated wage growth will stabilise at around 2.6% through 2026”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for this claim.
schedule
Claim 12: “The World Bank's April 2026 Food Security Update flagged a near 46% month-on-month spike in urea”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 13: “Globally, OECD data shows food price levels were nearly 46% higher in mid-2025 than in December 2019.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is explicitly supported by one web search result citing a Euronews report on OECD estimates. No other independent sources corroborate this specific figure.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Bombardier Global 7500 and Global 8000 are ultra long-range business jets developed by Bombardier Aviation (formerly Bombardier Aerospace). The Global 7500, originally named the Global 7000, made …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_Global_7500
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — December is the 12th and final month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. December's name derives from the Latin word decem (meaning 10) because it was originall…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. It can be attributed to a series of f…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 14: “Chocolate rose 17.8%, frozen fruit 13%, and beef and veal increased by 10%.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 15: “wages in agricultural sectors rising 6.2% year-on-year in 2022 and by above 5% again through 2023.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The evidence discusses the economy of Sri Lanka and general agricultural machinery, but provides no data on EU agricultural sector wage increases for 2022 and 2023.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Agricultural machinery refers to mechanical devices, vehicles, and structures used in farming or other agriculture. There are many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractors …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_machinery
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Agriculture is the practice of cultivating the soil, planting, raising, and harvesting both food and non-food crops, as well as livestock production. Broader definitions also include forestry and aqua…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Krone Agriculture is the parent company of the Agricultural Machinery Technology subgroup of Bernard Krone Holding, based in Spelle in the district of Emsland, Germany. In the 2022/23 financial year, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krone_Agriculture
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 16: “One in three eurozone consumers, the ECB reported, now worries about being able to afford the food they want.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence mentions the ECB and Eurostat in the context of inflation and payment attitudes, but does not mention the specific statistic that one in three eurozone consumers worry about affording food.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 7 days ago ... ... according to Eurostat. However, the European Central Bank (ECB) are not overly concerned, a member of the board of governors Isabel Schnabel ...
https://www.facebook.com/eudebates.tv/posts/ecb-acts-for-the…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank of the European Union countries which have adopted the euro. Our main task is to maintain price ...
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/ecb_surveys/space/html/ecb.s…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 ... ... according to Eurostat. However, the European Central Bank (ECB) are not overly concerned, a member of the board of governors Isabel Schnabel ...
https://www.facebook.com/elerianm/posts/eurozone-headline-in…
help
Claim 17: “Eurostat's agricultural price data for Q1 2025 shows milk up 12.6%, eggs up 10.7% and cereals up 9.6% year-on-year.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for this claim.
schedule
Claim 18: “of the 64 food items tracked by Eurostat, all but eight recorded price increases in 2025.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 19: “Labour typically accounts for 10–15% of total costs in food manufacturing, according to ING Research.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists of definitions of the word 'labour' and information about the UK Labour Party, not financial data from ING Research regarding food manufacturing costs.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Keir Starmer has been Leader of the Labour Party since 2020 and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024. There have been twelve Labour governments and seven Labour prime ministers.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Look up Labour, labour, Labor, or labor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Labor and labour are the same word. Labor is preferred in American English, whereas labour is standard in British English.
https://writingexplained.org/labor-vs-labour-difference
schedule
Claim 20: “Compare that with Germany at 11.5%, Luxembourg at 9.3% and the Netherlands at 11.7%.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 21: “A peer-reviewed study published in January 2025 analysed nearly 89,000 European food and beverage manufacturers across 2013–2022 and found that price markups — the margin above marginal cost — actually decreased over the period.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 22: “Across the EU, food and non-alcoholic beverages recorded the single largest cumulative price increase of any consumer category over the past decade, rising by 33.2% between 2016 and 2025, according to Eurostat's harmonised inflation data”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence contains general information about the German Federal Statistical Office and EU referendums, but no specific data confirming a 33.2% increase in food prices between 2016 and 2025.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on Thursday 23 June 2016 in the Unite…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_Kingdom_European_U…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Relations between the European Union (EU) and Turkey were established in 1959, and the institutional framework was formalized with the 1963 Ankara Agreement. Although not a member state of the Europea…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey–European_Union_relation…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — International relations between the European Union (EU) and Ukraine are shaped through the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). Ukraine …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine–European_Union_relatio…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.