In the first half of this year, retail food sales in Poland have declined by 0.8% compared to the previous year, according to Grzegorz Rykaczewski, an agricultural sector analyst at Bank Pekao S.A., as reported in Tuesday’s edition of “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.”
Data from Poland’s Central Statistical Office (GUS), cited by the newspaper, reveals that Poles spent a total of 1,259,977 million PLN in stores last year. Out of this, 370,928 million PLN was allocated to food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and tobacco products. This represents an increase of 5.9% and 11.2%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
However, food inflation last year was a staggering 15.1%, with the overall inflation rate reaching 11.4%, noted Rykaczewski. Despite efforts by retail chains to mitigate the impact of rising prices through substantial promotions and a zero VAT rate on certain products, these measures have proven insufficient.
The previous year’s significant retail sales growth, influenced by the onset of the war in Ukraine, created a high comparison base. Additionally, in the first half of this year, household incomes grew at a slower pace than inflation, leading Poles to cut back on their purchases, explained Rykaczewski. He emphasized the 0.8% decrease in retail food sales in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.