Food industry officials anticipate the cost of meat products and baked goods will increase the most.
In 2008, food prices rose twenty percent. That’s triple the usual annual increase. About a year ago, experts warned of a global food crisis, with demand and prices expected to rise. Now raw material costs have plummeted, and stores have seen a fall in sales.
Osmo Laine, the managing director of the Finnish Grocery Trade Association, said food prices could go down in April or May.
In any case, food costs are expected to drop by October at the latest. That’s when government’s planned VAT reduction is expected to go into force. At that time, grocery prices could drop four percent.