Portugal: Food prices can increase up to 10%

Some crops have already felt it, for example soft wheat (flour base) has risen more than 30% since the end of 2019. In the next corn harvest, in November, the price is expected to rise 45% compared to 2020. The increase in the price of raw materials is affecting several sectors. The same is true for the agri-food industry, where producers and associations are sure that food prices will increase in the coming months, reveals Jornal de Negócios (paid access). «The truth is that, in the last year, we have been working in a scenario of great instability caused by the direct impacts of the pandemic», explains Jorge Tomás Henriques, president of the Federation of Portuguese Agro-Food Industries. Production delays, fewer human resources, delays in deliveries, more expensive transport, all caused by Covid-19. But the pandemic does not explain everything, the “natural phenomena”, the workers' strike in Argentina or even China's commercial strategy affect the production of raw materials, ...