The latest data from OECD shows enormous food price rises across Europe
ITS OFFICIAL: Food price inflation is higher in the EU than in Brexit Britain.
This week the OECD released its figures for inflation for the month of October. When it comes to food prices — which affect us all — Brexit Britain continues to beat the EU27.
The OECD’s data showed massive increases in food prices in some EU countries and even greater increases in other European countries. They showed that Brexit Britain has LOWER food price inflation than the EU27 average.
Food price inflation in Europe, October 2022
It’s worse in the EU
- EU27: 17.3%
- UK: 16.4%
[Source: Latest OECD official data, released 06 Dec 2022.]
Ask yourselves why the BBC is not showing any of this.
The Top 10 highest food inflation rates are in the EU, NOT in the UK
- Hungary: 42.9%
- Lithuania: 33.7%
- Latvia: 29.5%
- Estonia: 28.0%
- Slovak Republic: 26.0%
- Czech Republic: 25.1%
- OECD — Europe: 23.5%
- Poland: 22.0%
- Germany: 19.2%
- Portugal: 18.6%
- EU27 average: 17.3%
- Slovenia: 17.2%
- United Kingdom: 16.4%
[Source: Latest OECD official data, released 06 Dec 2022.]
Food price inflation in the run-up to Christmas
The increasing price of food is a topic which has come up many times on the BBC, Sky News, and ITN in recent weeks. Typically we are shown interviews with managers of UK food banks, telling us how many more customers they now have.
I could not find one BBC report in November or December on food prices which mentioned that the UK is suffering less than the EU. Below is a typical BBC headline from November.
In the data summary above I have shown the raw facts released by the (pro-EU and Paris-based) OECD this week, showing what it says are the actual rises in food costs across the EU. The precise percentages might be disputed, but the comparison using this one methodology clearly shows the UK consumer doing better than the average EU consumer.
Food price inflation has been caused by several factors, from the Bank of England’s policies to the government’s Covid policies, to Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
What I have shown above is what you won’t see on the BBC, Sky News, or ITN. The picture is actually worse in other countries, with food price inflation now running at 23.5% in Europe, compared to 16.4% in Brexit Britain. Even if we confine ourselves to looking at the EU27, their average rate is higher than that in the UK, at 17.3%. In the EU’s official candidate country, Turkey, it’s now running at an out-of-control 99%.
For food prices to go up in the UK is of course worrying for a great many people. The fact that they are not going up in the UK as much as they are in the EU may not be much solace. All we can say is that it could be worse. We could still be in the EU….
Sources: OECD | BRC | ONS ]
