Riga, Dec 4 (LETA) - The population in the Baltic states is currently experiencing a significant increase in food prices - 31 percent in Latvia, 33 percent in Estonia and 26 percent in Lithuania say that they can afford to buy less food than before due to price hikes, representatives of the bank Citadele informed LETA, referring to a survey conducted by the bank.

Overall, the majority of the Baltic states' population has experienced food price hikes over the past year, with 87 percent in Latvia, 85 percent in Estonia and 73 percent in Lithuania confirming this.

A third of people in Latvia and Estonia and 25 percent in Estonia say that their food spending has increased slightly and that they can afford to buy less food than before.

Meanwhile, 29 percent in Latvia, 24 percent in Estonia and 22 percent in Lithuania say their spending has increased but they can still afford everything they used to.

Only 7 percent of the Latvian respondents said that their monthly spending on food had not changed significantly. In Estonia, 6 percent said the same, and in Lithuania 11 percent. Among Latvian respondents, this was the most common answer among those whose monthly salary is at least EUR 1,500.

The survey data show that the increase in food prices is felt most strongly by people living in Kurzeme, Latgale and Zemgale.

Karlis Purgailis, Chief Economist at Citadele bank, explains that although food price growth in the euro area has slowed down significantly recently, food price increases in the Baltics have been more than 40 percent over the last three years. And in the Baltics, it has been twice as high as in the rest of Europe.

Purgailis reminded that overall inflation was 2 percent in October, while food price inflation was 5.5 percent year-on-year. At the same time, food price inflation in the EU was 2.9 percent, which shows that food prices are rising faster in Latvia.

Although average wages in Latvia have also continued to rise, this is slower than inflation over the past three years, Purgailis pointed out. The economist forecasts that wages will continue to rise faster than inflation next year and that people's purchasing power will increase as a result. Similarly, the World Bank forecasts that agricultural prices will fall by 4 percent next year, so both beverage and food prices are expected to fall during the year.

Citadele conducted a representative population survey on the shopping habits of the Baltic population in November 2024, with more than 3,000 respondents in the Baltic states aged 18-74 years surveyed online.