Spaniards’ food spending continues to fall

Even so, the price of the shopping basket is 7.1% higher, a high increase considering that last year it increased by 11.6%. Consumption rose by 3.2% compared to last year. The results of the last three months mean that demand has recovered to now stand at +0.8% for the first 9 months of the year compared to the same period last year. However, food consumption is down.

These are the findings of Circana’s consumption barometer, which shows that the food segment, which represents the highest percentage of spending for Spanish families, continues to register the highest increase in prices (+ 12.2%) and also the largest drop in consumption (-0.7%) compared to 2022, although the situation is slightly better than in the previous month.

Regarding the price of food, olive oil remains the protagonist, with an increase of +71.2% compared to September 2022, causing a drop in demand of 12.6% and a growth in purchases of other types of oil such as sunflower oil (+12.6%).

The segments with the top price increases in the first 9 months of 2023 are: sugar (+47.7%); non-liquid milk (+46.8%); olive oil (+43.1%); frozen vegetables and greens (+23.2%); and rice (+20.5%). Of these families, only frozen vegetables saw their consumption increase (+4.7%) thanks to the greater consumption of frozen potatoes, probably driven by the rise of air fryers.