Data extracted from Luxembourg's national statistics institute, STATEC, has shown that the food price inflation rate peaked at 10.49% in October 2022; this represents the highest rate since data became available in 1996 and the first time it experienced a double-digit increase.

The annual change in prices (inflation) of food and non-alcoholic beverages is calculated and published by STATEC as part of the monthly national consumer price index (indice des prix à la consommation national - IPCN). The overall inflation for October 2022 was 6.85%, marginally lower than September 2022 (6.88%).

Looking closely at the sub-classes of food and non-alcoholic beverages category, the highest increase was recorded for edible oils (excluding olive oil), which recorded an unprecedented 41.2% increase compared to October 2021. The price of margarine and other vegetable fats were up 24.8% in October 2022 compared to an year ago, while that of fresh vegetables, butter, frozen fruit, flour and other cereals, pasta and couscous, whole milk, other dairy products, eggs and fresh vegetables was up by at least 15%. Coffee, bread and cheese prices were also up by 13.9%, 13.6% and 12.7%, respectively.

At the European Union (EU) level, food price inflation (Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices - HICP) was more dramatic. Data extracted from the European statistics agency Eurostat has shown that the annual inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages across the EU in October 2022 was 17.3%, with Hungary reporting the highest rate (43.0%), followed by Lithuania (32.6%), Latvia (29.6%) and Estonia (27.9%). Luxembourg and Ireland, both at 10.5%, reported the lowest inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages amongst the EU Member States.

However, in case of edible oils (excluding olive oil), Hungary reported the lowest inflation rate of 1.4% in October 2022, and was the only Member State to report a single-digit rate. On the other hand, Denmark reported the highest increase in rate (102.0%), followed by Malta (81.2%), Germany (81.2%) and Slovakia (80.8%).

In the case of bread, Hungary topped the charts with an 82.8% inflation rate in October 2022, followed by Latvia (36.6%), Czechia (35.4%) and Lithuania (35.2%). The lowest increase in bread prices was reported in France (9.4%), followed by the Netherlands (10.0%), Luxembourg (13.6%) and Malta (13.7%).