Since January 2023 the price of fruit has increased by 9.1 per cent. For vegetables the price has gone up by 6.8 per cent.
The most expensive bag of groceries is found in Västerbotten. This was found in the pensioners’ organisation PRO’s annual investigation of food prices in January.
In the same month Statistics Sweden could establish that the average prices of food went up by 0.3 per cent in January compared to December 2023.
Cornelia and Lena Stenlund, daughter and mother, tell Norran that it is unavoidable to think about the steep prices of food when they go grocery shopping.
– Of course it affects your purchases, Lena Stenlund says.
– I would like to support Norrland more but I choose the cheapest products. I’m lactose intolerant and Norrmejerier’s lactose-free products are much more expensive than other brands, says Cornelia Stenlund.
Fruit and vegetables is at the top of the list in terms of how much the prices have gone up in total since January of last year. The price of fruit has gone up by just over nine per cent.
In terms of products, leek has shot up in price. This year consumers have had to pay 31.9 per cent more for their leek than in December of last year.
– Fruit and vegetables has become extortionate. Especially for us with children at home. My children love fruit and vegetables and they need to bring something to school every day, says Elin Hedlund who is shopping together with her daughter.
Does it affect your purchases?
– I tend to cut back on other things as I want to be able to give them that.
One type of product the Skellefteå residents skip due to the high price is organic produce. Linda Vikström and Erik Lundmark have almost entirely stopped buying organic.
– It doesn’t feel good though. We’ve always bought a lot of organic products and it’s been important to me. Now it’s too expensive, says Linda Vikström to Norran.
– There’s less leftover of the salary each month and one tends to look more at prices. Today we skipped buying raspberry jam because it was too expensive, says Erik Lundmark.
Meat has not gone up in price as much. Compared to the beginning of 2023 the price has increased by just over four per cent.
Marise Basson who moved to Skellefteå from South Africa two years ago says that she has been forced to think more about what she eats.
– I eat a lot less meat and more pasta, bread and sandwiches instead. Meat is really expensive and especially compared to South Africa, she says.