Spain's Organización de Consumidores y Usuarios (OCU) has noted that the price of the average shopping basket fell by 0.58% in September, while the accumulated decrease since June stands at 0.7%.
The OCU Price Observatory tracks the price of 100 typical products that are bought in supermarkets, taking into account eight different retail chains: Alcampo, Carrefour, Día, Mas, Ahorramas, Lidl, Mercadona and El Corte Inglés. The assessment includes both private label and A-brand products.
Inflation has had a major impact on the shopping basket over the past three years, with food prices rising by 35.5%, OCU said.
Month-On-Month Decline
The monthly cost of a typical shopping basket in September 2024 was €308.47, a decrease of -0.58% compared to August (€310.26).
This downtrend may be short-lived, however as a return to general VAT rates, which came into effect at the start of October, could reverse it.
According to an OECD report, between 2019 and 2024, the shopping basket in Spain rose 14% more than wages, the third-largest gap among OECD countries.
Category By Category
Fruits and vegetables saw the most significant price increase in Spain, up by 6.59% in September, compared to the previous month. Beverages also rose slightly.
However, prices for other food categories, such as meat, fish, and packaged goods, showed a downward trend, with dairy products seeing the sharpest decline at -3.03%.
Among individual items, salads, onions, oranges, and apples were among those with the highest price increases, likely due to the ending of the summer season.
On the positive side, a number of products saw price declines, particularly in the dairy sector. Fresh cheese dropped by -9.76%, and margarine by -6.40%.
'Assuming that all supermarkets have raised their prices and that the large chains have done so in a fairly similar proportion, there are foods where the differences are greater and where it would be more worthwhile to look carefully at where you buy them,' the OCU added. 'Choosing the right stores to shop at can always save you money, whether inflation is high or not.'
