More price rises on essential items

Retailers are warning the public to brace themselves for another wave of price increases on essential goods, as hikes dairy products are next in line.

The news comes just a day after the butchers’ association warned of a 30% price hike on the wholesale cost of veal and beef, which will have a knock-on effect on consumers.

In comments to Phileleftheros daily, the general secretary of the Cyprus Retailers Association, Marios Antoniou, said that supermarkets have already received requests from dairy producers to up the price tags on a number of products.

Producers are evoking the increase in the cost of raw materials, with Halloumi being the first dairy product to see its price increase.

Antoniou expects increases in meat products to be introduced after 15 August, a religious holiday marking the end of a fasting period.

He said supermarkets would announce promotion campaigns for meat two to three days before 15 August.

Shops are noticing consumers changing their habits as early as February when the war in Ukraine broke out.

“Consumers are more conservative in their buys.

“They come in with lists of specific products and labels, indicating that they have done their homework before coming in,” said Antoniou.

He added that retailers have seen shoppers prefer cheaper frozen meat and vegetable products over fresh produce.

Consumers are making fewer compulsive buys, with many visiting more than one supermarket to benefit the most from offers.

“We have also noticed that traffic tends to drop after the middle of the month.”

Antoniou confirmed that supermarkets had seen an increase in the value of their overall turnover but not volume due to the increased cost of living.

Regarding foodstuff, the value index increased by 7.7%, while the annual volume decreased by 4.7% in the first half of the year.