“Mileuristas have a hard time; you can’t buy anything”

Filling the shopping basket is still a headache for Spanish homes. Although the inflationary tsunami that placed the food CPI at the historical record of 16.6% At the beginning of 2023, which forced the Government to lower the VAT on certain items, there are basic products in the shopping basket that are suffering a new escalation that seems to have no end to the consumer’s surprise.

In this way, prices of up to seven foods of the 55 groups collected by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) have risen above 10% in just one year. Specifically, the eggs (22.5%), the coffee (19.4%), the beef (17.8%), the chocolate (16.1%)the vegetable oils -not olive- (15.3) or the cocoa and chocolate powder (12.7%) have increased by more than double digits in October.

Added to these are other products that have increased by a percentage greater than 5%, such as edible offal (8.1%); the meat of sheep and goats (7.7%), the fresh fish or refrigerated (7.2%), the butter (7.1%), the dried fruits and shell (7%), other meats such as rabbit or game (6.5%), the fresh fruit (6.3%), the frozen fish (6.2%), others meat preparations (5.7%), the milk whole (5.6%) and the dried meatsalted or smoked (5.1%).

Given this situation, 20 minutes has taken to the streets to ask Spanish consumers if they are noticing the increases a lot and What plans do you have to make your Christmas meals cheaper?

“I’ve been noticing it in general for a couple of years now; It’s like you suddenly say ‘where did I spend the money,'” he says. Irenestudent, who places special emphasis on the rise in the price of eggs.

Martha and Herminio They claim that everything has gone up “a lot” and that they don’t know how mileurist families with children can make ends meet. “Mileuristas have a hard time. Beef, chicken, vegetables, fruit have gone up… You can’t buy anything,” says this couple.

“Now you have to draw on savings to make ends meet because it doesn’t make it”explains this couple, who is clear about their strategy to save for the Christmas holidays. “If you want to eat lamb at Christmas, which is typical, you have to buy it now and put it in the freezer because you can’t afford to buy it on Christmas Eve at the price they charge for it,” they advise.

“Before I came with 20 euros to the supermarket and now I have to take 60 or 50 because otherwise it’s not enough for me”

This same system is the one that follows Pigeonhousewife, to put good seafood on the table on those dates: “I buy now, for example, crabs. I buy them now, I cook them and I freeze them. It can easily be 20 euros of savings“.

“Eggs, meat, fruit have risen a lot… Before I came with 20 euros to the supermarket and now I have to take 60 or 50 because if not it’s not enough for me,” he says with resignation,” he says with resignation Carlosa worker in the hospitality sector, who acknowledges looking for “more offers to make ends meet.” JulianFor his part, a waiter, points out that “almost everything is going up double”a situation that “touches our pockets and worries us all”, but that he assumes with sportsmanship: “These are the rules of the game.”

Angel Luison the other hand, shows its most absolute indignation at this situation, especially because it believes that before Christmas prices will increase even more. “This is going down a very wrong path”says this retiree. “Eggs have risen by at least 60-70%, a beast. It is worth almost six euros what was previously worth four,” he says.

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