Polish food prices set to fluctuate
summer months, while prices will grow in September through
December, but at a lower pace than in April when the growth was
much higher than expected creating uncertainty for the food
industry there.
"The highest price hikes are already behind us," said Krzysztof Rybiñski, president of the National Bank of Poland, yesterday in a report from the Warsaw Independent. "The prices of food will remain one of the main inflationary factors this year, however."
According to the report food prices rose in the first half of April by 2.3 per cent compared to the first half of March. The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 4.6 per cent year on year.
Many industry observers had predicted that with accession to the EU food prices would rise significantly as costs were bought in line with norms across the common market. However most believed that prices would level off towards the end of the year, as prices became more consistent.
Despite the predictions by many analysts Rybiñski said the Central Bank was surprised by the rapid growth in the demand for Polish food products after Poland entered the European Union.
