By Sebastian Geisler
While the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) is assuming 33.3 percent pasta inflation (compared to October the previous year), the makers of the price comparison app “Smhaggle” come up with up to 102 percent inflation!
Particularly drastically more expensive: own brands (e.g. “Ja!”, “Gut & Cheap”).
Smhaggle boss Sven Reuter on BILD: “The data we collect reflect actual consumption and the corresponding prices on a daily basis. Contrary to what was determined by other bodies, we have to state that the prices of the own brands have increased on average twice as high as with comparable branded products! Own brands have increased in price five times more than, for example, the branded product Barilla.”
Because: Consumers have changed their behavior – and that is causing prices to rise. It’s over with Sparghetti!
Consequence: Consumer advocate Armin Valet “cannot understand” the official noodle values. Valet to BILD: “There was a noticeable increase in several types of pasta! Consumers on a tight budget are feeling the price tag particularly hard when it comes to private labels.”
According to Valet, price declines are more likely: “Wheat prices on the futures markets have already fallen sharply again. But the consumers on the supermarket shelves don’t notice any of this yet.”
His assumption: “Retailers and manufacturers obviously want to hold on to the higher price level! People who now have to turn over every cent twice will be left in the lurch.” When asked by BILD, Destatis stuck to its numbers. Determine the “average price development”.
As the “Kieler Nachrichten” reports, the market research institute GfK is now only assuming that prices will fall for branded pasta manufacturers. There was a minus of 11.4 percent. The reason is a “change in consumer behavior”.