Inflation reaches 9.6% in 2022
Last year recorded the fourth highest average annual inflation of the last three decades in Greece, amounting to 9.6%, recalling the state of the economy in the early 1990s, according to consumer price index data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) on Thursday.
Although the last month of the year just gone closed with a further deceleration in inflation, with the CPI standing at 7.2%, from 8.5% in November, 9.1% in October and 12% in September, the individual figures – such as the record posted by food inflation, which came to 15.5% – do not allow for any complacency.
Food industry officials and market analysts estimate that food price hikes will continue at least for the first half of 2023, since, despite the decline in energy rates, the prices of basic raw materials remain at very high levels. This, after all, is also reflected in the latest data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with the food price index falling by 2.6 points in December 2022 compared to November 2022, while individual indices concerning dairy and sugar keep increasing.
The government is aware of the above and it is no coincidence that it has not ruled out the continuation of the Household Basket measure after March 31.
