October in Estonian supermarkets: Meat getting more and more expensive

While some food prices in Estonian stores came down somewhat, such decreases have largely been just a few cents in size, and most products have in fact gotten more expensive on year. Not one product in the meat category saw a drop in price last month, while both rye and white bread prices have gone up by a fifth on year.
The price of a kilogram of sugar in October jumped 30 percent on year, however unlike in the preceding summer months, which saw a rapid increase, the increase in the price of sugar has since come to a halt, and its price per kilo in fact fell by one cent compared with September, according to figures released by the Estonian Institute of Economic Research (EKI).
The price per kilo of wheat flour went up both on year and on month, however not by much – last month, flour cost 3 cents more per kilo than in September and 5 cents more than in October of last year.
Oatmeal also rose 9 percent in price on year, however the cost per kilo actually fell by 3 cents compared with the previous month.
Rye bread and white bread prices both remained steady on month, however they were both up by one-fifth on year. Rye bread jumped from €2.37 per kilo last October to €2.85 per kilo last month, while white bread had increased from €2.13 to €2.33 in the same period.
No decreases in meat prices
October price increases for meat products all fell under 20 percent on year, however not one single product saw prices go down.
On year, the biggest price increases were recorded for import chicken and domestic ground meat, both of which went up 18 percent last month. Both prices also increased compared with the previous month as well – from €3.16 to €3.49 for import chicken and from €7.95 to €8.11 for domestic ground meat.
Domestic chicken and boneless beef prices both went up 16 percent on year as well, with the latter increasing from €14.64 to €17.06 per kilo in October.
Boneless pork also rose 11 percent and franks and cooked sausage 12 percent on year. Pork chops likewise went up in price last month, rising 8 percent on year.
Compared with September, smoked pork chop, cooked sausage and pork chop prices all went up by a few percent. Boneless pork prices remained unchanged on month, however tiny price decrease was recorded for pork ribs and franks, the prices per kilo of which fell by 6 cents and 1 cent, respectively. Boneless beef prices also went down by a couple of percent on month.
Fish prices fluctuate more than those of other food prices, and the EKI tracks them both at markets and in supermarkets, between which shoppers can encounter major price differences.
Chilled salmon fillet, which last October cost €19.35 per kilo at markets, had jumped to €22.74 last month, indicating a nearly 4 percent increase from September as well. Chilled whole Baltic herring, meanwhile, went up 11 percent and Baltic herring nearly 10 percent, while perch fillet went up 8 percent on year.
Some fish prices actually went down on year as well last month. Chilled trout, for example, fell from €13.27 per kilo at markets last October to €11.03 last month. Trout prices in stores saw a decrease as well – from €9.57 to €8.93 per kilo.
Trout fillet prices saw even further reductions, falling from €18.85 per kilo in supermarkets last fall to €15.22 last month. Its price at the market, however, went up by several percent both on year and on month, jumping to €22.20 in October.
Leading dairy product price increases last month was cottage cheese, which saw the category's only double-digit spike in price last month at nearly 13 percent. The price of bagged sour cream also rose nearly 9 percent on year and also 3 cents since September.
Bagged milk, which stood at €0.81 per liter both last October and this September, fell to €0.80 last month, however milk in cartons got a little more expensive on year – increasing from €1.12 to €1.20 per liter. Compared with September, however, both milk and kefir prices fell by a few cents last month.
Packaged butter went up in price 6 percent on year, increasing from €12.11 to €12.80 per kilo; this marked an increase of 15 cents on month as well. Cheese prices likewise increased to around the same degree, both on month and on year.
Domestic, 10-count cartons of eggs went up an average of 15 percent on year in October. Import egg price changes, meanwhile, varied by size, with large eggs actually decreasing by 17 cents on year, but medium eggs going up by the same amount.
Overall egg prices decreased on month in October, but only by a few cents.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Aili Vahtla