1 in 3 have had to reduce consumption due to high electricity prices. However, according to a recent VG survey, a trip to the grocery store is a major concern.
High prices of electricity, petrol and food have grabbed a lot of headlines this summer. On Tuesday, that became clear In line with measures to reduce electricity prices, storage should be interrupted during holidays.
In a recent VG poll conducted by Respons Analytics, 19 percent responded that they believe electricity prices will have the biggest impact on their finances in the future.
More than double that, four in ten, on the other hand, indicate that higher food prices have the greatest impact.
1,000 people were asked, and the results were correlated with geography, as well as the gender and age structure of the population.
The proportion of people who worry about food prices is around 40 per cent across the country, but there is a wide variation in the number of people who mention electricity prices. In Trøndelag and northern Norway, Electricity is significantly cheaper than in the southOnly two percent tick the electricity price in the survey.
Answers to the survey can be read in the fact box below:
Overpriced coffee and coat
– I notice it more in coffee. My son often buys coffee lattes, which are expensive. I mostly stick to cheap coffee, says Ingrid Wick (80).
The 80-year-old is out to buy cat for her cat, Timmy, when VG meets her at Kiwi Storkata in central Oslo.
Coffee and fresh fish are both the most expensive in the past year, rising 19 and 17 percent respectively, the figures show. SSP
– I’ve saved all my life, so I don’t notice it like people with small children. But many may be shaking their pants now, he says.
About a hundred meters away, at Rema 1000 in Torgata, Kenneth Simonson (48) is looking for a decent dinner for himself and his two children.
– They are two big eaters, he tells VG.
Simonson is only at the beginning of her shopping trip, but she manages to put a package of chicken in the shopping basket.
– You’re trying to eat healthy, and the kids think chicken is great. But lately meat has been scarce, says the 48-year-old.
Between June and July this year alone, the general price of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 7.6 percent. He writes that this is the highest price increase from one month to another Statistics Norway.
– I started to be a little more selective about what I put in the shopping basket and plan a little more. Says Simonson, the habit of going to the store every day to pick up groceries is gone.
He bent over a shelf of computer supplies, but quickly discovered that it had been taken by other traders. Only one can of ready-made soup left.
Priority should be given to one third
More than 30 percent of VG survey participants responded that due to high electricity prices, they had to cut back on other consumption such as buying food, beverages and clothes.
There are clear differences between Trøndelag and Northern Norway compared to the rest of the country. Here, nine percent of the population responded that reprioritization was necessary, compared to 38 percent in eastern Norway.
The responses to the survey can be read here:
– Kenneth Simonson says that I used to be very frugal with electricity, but I live in a one-story house, and then it will not be bad.
– Do you get heated by your neighbors?
– Yes, it is, he says.
Other price hikes are the reason
Jarle Hammerstad is head of industry policy at the interest group Virke, which represents several major players in the food industry.
He doesn’t think the results of the VG survey are particularly surprising:
– Food and beverages are a significant part of a family’s budget, and costs are high, especially for families with multiple children or low incomes.
– In that sense, there may be many who have watched with concern that prices are increasing as they are now, but here the price increase is linked. He tells VG that energy prices and raw material prices are responsible for the rise in food prices.
Virke man also has an explanation for the big price hike between June and July this year:
– That’s when price adjustments from suppliers, as well as shipping costs and raw material costs, kick in fully, says Hammerstad.
– Do grocery chains make more money this way?
– No, price hikes are not good news for anyone because margins will be squeezed at all levels.
– Grocery prices have lagged behind increases in the Consumer Price Index for a long time, until it rebounded in May. If you look at the last twelve months, you can see that the cost of electricity and fuel has gone up, which has also affected the cost of food and drink, says Hammerstad.
– Does anyone actually profit from this?
– Well, that’s a good question. Except for Putin, nobody in the Western world will benefit if he creates the image of chaos he wants in the West. But no one has benefited from inflation, especially in food and beverages.
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