By Maximilian Both
Fresh rolls, coffee, ham, eggs … that’s part of breakfast for many. Is Sunday breakfast in jeopardy?
The fact is: the breakfast inflation is hitting mercilessly, because numerous foods that Germans like to eat, especially in the morning, have become significantly more expensive this year.
Coffee: price increase of 22.85 percent
It starts with the first cup of coffee, so a pound of Tchibo’s coffee classic “Feine Milde” cost 5.69 euros in January, followed by the price increase to 6.99 euros in February – a price increase of 22.85 percent!
A single cup of coffee cost just under 14 cents in January (12 grams of ground coffee, 200 milliliters per cup) – today it is just under 17 cents!
The reason: “In the eight months before, the prices for green coffee had risen by 50 percent,” explains a company spokeswoman when asked by BILD. This does not detract from the Germans’ love of coffee, last year every German citizen drank a calculated 169 liters of coffee – this year it should be even more.
A cup of coffee (symbolic photo)
milk, cheese, butter
Dairy products should also not be missing from any breakfast table: for many Germans, cheese, butter and drinking milk are simply part of it. But here, too, the expensive shock hits mercilessly.
In September 2021, a liter of fresh milk costs an average of 0.90 euros (brand, organic and discounters were calculated together), a year later it is already 1.17 euros – a whopping increase of 30 percent.
Brand manufacturers and organic shops in particular suffer from this, and customers are increasingly turning to cheaper milk. The price increase of 50 percent was particularly noticeable for organic milk.
The food discounter Kaufland is resourcefully dealing with the price increases and is changing the packaging design: instead of a plastic screw cap, there is only a tear-off tab.
The price increase is particularly noticeable for butter and cheese. In September 2021, 250 grams of butter still cost 1.51 euros, now it is 2.49 euros – branded butter is significantly more expensive and often costs a whole euro more in retail.
The situation is similar with cheese: a kilo of Gouda cost 5.86 euros the year before, in September 2022 it is 7.87 euros – a price increase of 34.30 percent.
The milk industry association justifies the increased costs primarily with energy prices: Both the farmers and the dairies pay significantly more for transport, production and cooling than in the previous year.
salami and ham
The 11,000 German butchers are also groaning under the energy costs. In addition, the prices of pigs have increased by 60 percent in the last year alone.
Not all of these additional costs can be passed on to the end consumer. The national average price for 100 grams of home-made salami is currently 2.53 euros, a year ago it was 2.25 euros.
The price increase is a moderate 12.44 percent. The price of cooked ham rose by just 11.91 percent – from EUR 1.93 per 100 g to EUR 2.16.
eggs
The Federal Egg Association warns of a shortage of laying hens. The Lebensmittel Zeitung initially reported that there was no relief in sight until Easter. The reason: the energy and feed costs have risen, but the ban on “chicken shredding” also leads to additional costs.
Add to this the effects of bird flu, which is troubling poultry farmers. The consequences: The 10-pack of free-range eggs currently costs an average of 1.99 euros, last year it was 1.69 euros – 17.75 percent more!
Expensive shock with orange juice
Orange juice is now traded on international food exchanges. With bitter consequences for consumers: the price of orange juice has risen by 57.4 percent in the last 12 months. If the orange harvest in Florida turns out to be worse, this will also affect prices in Europe. Hurricane Ian ruined the crops there this year.
However, the enormous price increase only reaches consumers with a delay, because the juice that is currently on the supermarket shelves was processed months ago, but orange juice has become about 20 percent more expensive.
At least in the case of apple juice, the Association of the German Fruit Juice Industry has given the all-clear for the short term that price increases are not to be expected until after Christmas.
Bread and rolls of all kinds (symbol image) Photo: picture alliance / Zoonar
bread and buns
At the Central Association of the German Bakery Trade, it is difficult to name a number when it comes to quantifying the price increases of the last few months. The products and working methods of the traditional craft businesses are too different.
The EU statistical office gives at least one indication that the prices of rolls and other baked goods rose by 18 percent on average in the period from August 2021 to August 2022.
If you add everything up, the prices for breakfast have risen sharply!
A roll, a cup of coffee, a small portion of butter (25 g), salami (10 g), cheese (20 g), an egg, a glass of orange juice (200 ml) cost around 1.40 euros in total in 2021, this year it is 1.74 euros – a total of about 24.29 percent more.
Although breakfast is not yet a luxury good, the rising food prices are clearly noticeable in the household budget.