MOSCOW, June 25 In May, Russia was the only country in Europe where food deflation was observed: prices fell by a record 1.12 percent in annual terms, follows from the calculations.
So far, annual deflation in food and non-alcoholic beverages has been observed in Russia only twice — in June 2018 (0.42 percent) and last April (0.22 percent). According to Dmitry Vostrikov, executive director of the Association of Producers and Suppliers of Food Products, the current situation is connected with the reorientation of logistics routes and the expansion of payments in national currencies, as well as with a record harvest of grain and oilseeds.
The highest food inflation was still in Hungary, although it continued to slow down, falling from 39 to 34 percent. Annual price growth rates above 20 percent were also recorded in Serbia (23.2 percent), Slovakia (21.7 percent), Estonia (20.4 percent), and Ukraine (20.1 percent).
At the same time, inflation slowed down in most European countries — most of all in Portugal (by six percentage points), Hungary (by five), Lithuania and Slovakia (by 3.7) and Estonia ( three percentage points).
However, only four countries experienced price growth below ten percent in annual terms: Portugal (9.4 percent), Cyprus (8.4 percent), Switzerland (5.3 percent) and Belarus (4.4 percent). percent).
Vostrikov noted that inflation in European countries was the result of both an increase in the rate of the European Central Bank and high energy prices.
«The growth of energy resources and the refinancing rate leads to an increase in the cost, affects the price of production of all European goods, including food,» he explained.
The study was conducted on the basis of data from national statistical services of 40 European countries, as of the beginning of June, they disclosed data for May. The food inflation indicator takes into account changes in prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages.