Eurostat: Bread Prices in EU Grow Record 18% Year-On-Year, Over 60% in Hungary

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Bread in the European Union has never cost as much as this August, having shown an 18% growth in price compared with last year, the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) said on Monday.

"In August 2022, the price of bread in the EU was on average 18% higher than in August 2021. This is a huge increase compared with August 2021, when the price of bread was on average 3% higher than in August 2020," Eurostat said in a statement.

The distribution of bread price growth was uneven across EU space, Eurostat said.

"Some countries were much more affected than others. The highest average rate of change in bread prices was recorded in Hungary (+66% in August 2022), followed by Lithuania (+33%), Estonia and Slovakia (both +32%)," Eurostat said.

The statistical office added that apart from bread prices, meat, vegetable cooking oils and fats have also become more expensive.

Ukraine and Russia account for almost a third of the world's wheat and barley production and half of its sunflower oil. Disruptions in supply chains due to hostilities have led to higher fuel and food prices across the EU, driving inflation to record levels and causing cost of living to soar.

On July 22, Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey signed an UN-brokered initiative to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships with food and fertilizer exports from Black Sea ports. A considerable part of that food has been since delivered to European countries.