Sugar has been one of the fastest growing grocery store products. The Institute of Economic Research's (KI) price index shows that the price per kilogram climbed by 1 percent in May, but was still nearly twice as expensive than a year earlier: €0.76 last May and €1.45 in May of this year.

The price of wheat flour has risen by 46 percent over the past year, with a further five cents per kilogram added in the last month.

Dark (rye) bread and white bread prices have also increased by about 40 percent, although the price of the latter fell by six cents between April and May. The price of oats climbed by 23 percent over the past year.

The prices of all meat products surveyed have increased since May of last year as well. The most significant price rise was 36 percent for minced meat, followed by a 32 percent increase for boneless beef.

The price of both domestic and imported broiler increased by a little less than 30 percent, while the price of local wieners and pork ribs grew by more than a fifth.

The price per kilogram of pork went up the least over the past year, from €7.3 to €7.58.

Several types of meat were marginally less expensive in May than they were in April. The price per kilogram of boneless beef dropped by 33 cents, pork cuts by 14 cents, and boneless pork by 24 cents. Other meat products were more expensive in May than in April. The product with the greatest monthly price increase was local wiener, whose price per kilogram rose by 20 cents.

The price of fish fluctuates greatly from month-to-month, but in May, these swings favored the consumer for some species. For example, refrigerated salmon and salmon fillets cost €14.96 and €22.84 per kilogram, respectively, compared to €16.7 and €26.48 in May of the previous year.

Although the price of refrigerated perch increased 23 percent year-on-year to €9.61 per kilo, it fell 58 percent month-on-month.

As in April, refrigerated zander fillet has increased the most in May, costing €29.69, a 57 percent increase year-on-year. In April, a kilo of zander fillet priced the same.

Dairy prices are much higher than they were last spring, while a comparison of April and May reveals that the rate of price hikes has reduced for several products.

In May, milk in plastic bags and sour cream were each 34 percent more costly than the previous year, whereas kefir, coffee cream and cottage cheese were 25, 32 and 17 percent more expensive, respectively. However, the price of kefir has remained unchanged since April, while the price of milk and sour cream dropped by one cent and five cents, respectively.

Butter prices fell in May after rising in prior months. Despite the fact that the price of butter in small packages was 14 percent higher year-on-year, the price of butter fell by 25 cents in April.

The price of local cheese decreased a little. In May, a kilogram was 12 cents less costly than in April, but 17 percent more expensive than in May of the previous year.

The annual price increase for eggs is also a little slower than it was a month ago. Imported eggs increased by 19 percent, while domestic eggs increased by about 10 percent. In May, a local egg was two cents more costly than in April, while imported eggs were even a few cents cheaper.

In April, the price of onions jumped the most compared to all other food products, by 168 percent; also in May, onion prices increased the most, by 163 percent. In May of last year, it cost 61 cents per kilogram, whereas it now costs exactly a euro more. In the past month, onion prices have gone up by three cents per kilogram.

The price of carrots, particularly those sold in volume, increased by 119 percent, from 42 cents per kilogram last year to 92 cents per kilogram this year.

Imported tomatoes cost 33 percent more, while domestic tomatoes and cabbage heads cost 28 percent more. Cucumber prices varied greatly depending on length: while the price of short imported cucumbers rose by a quarter over the course of a year, the price of long imported cucumbers fell by about the same amount. Compared to April, however, both types of cucumbers were considerably more affordable: long cucumbers were €1.39 cheaper per kilogram, and short cucumbers were €1.26 cheaper per kilogram.

Potatoes are one of the few products whose prices have stayed relatively steady over time. The price per kilogram in May of last year was 96 cents, while in April and May of this year, it was 94 cents and 95 cents, respectively.

The price of a kilo of imported apples increased by 35 percent year-on-year and 13 percent month-on-month.

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