EP MEP warns of emergence of “new inflation”, rooted in Ukraine conflict

Croatian Member of the European Parliament (EP) Biljana Borzan has warned of the emergence of a new type of inflation in the European Union (EU), partly caused by the conflict in Ukraine. In a speech to the European Commission (EC), the parliamentarian spoke of the consequences of “savings inflation”.

Nghị sĩ EP cảnh báo sự xuất hiện của 'lạm phát mới', có nguồn gốc từ xung đột Ukraine

EP member Biljana Borzan has warned of the emergence of a new type of inflation in the EU, partly caused by the conflict in Ukraine. (Source: Getty)

“Although inflation is no longer at record levels, a new trend known as ‘savings inflation’ has emerged in supermarkets across the EU,” writes Borzan. “It is notable that with savings inflation, unlike inflation and shrinkflation, producers not only raise prices but also reduce the quality of their products.”

According to Ms. Borzan, after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, many food products using higher quality ingredients were replaced with lower quality products. She said that this measure was initially considered temporary, but it is still applied today.

“For example, the shortage of sunflower oil has led to the substitution of palm oil for sunflower oil in some products. Although the market has stabilized, some manufacturers have not yet returned to using sunflower oil as an ingredient, but continue to use palm oil because it is cheaper,” she explained.

In this regard, Ms Borzan asked the EC: “It is particularly alarming that some manufacturers do not inform consumers about changes in the composition of the packaging and that the nutritional values no longer correspond to the original data. Does the EC consider this behaviour misleading to consumers and, if so, how does it plan to combat it?”

Previously, the EU announced zero economic growth, with the Eurozone's GDP in the October-December 2023 period remaining unchanged compared to the previous three months.

According to preliminary estimates, eurozone GDP will grow by 0.5% in 2023 amid high inflation, interest rates and weak external demand. For all EU member states, total growth will be below 0.3%.

(according to TASS)

Source