The price of more than 160 products and services. One third is rising more in Portugal than in the eurozone
CNN Portugal analyzed the increase in more than 160 products in July compared to the same month last year. Of these goods and services, 54 grew more in Portugal than the average in the eurozone. There have been increases of more than 50% since July last year
Coffee, sugar, mineral water, natural gas, driving lessons and medical consultations are just a few examples of the 54 products and services that have seen an annual price increase in Portugal above the average for the eurozone. An analysis by CNN of the annual cost variation of 166 goods and services shows how one in three of the products on this list has become more expensive in Portugal – and there are cases where the price paid for this item is 60% higher today than in July 2022.
This is the case with sugar, which according to data from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical agency, rose by 60% in Portugal in July compared to the same period last year. In the same period, the price of sugar increased by 50.6% in all the countries that make up the eurozone. In the European Union as a whole, there are only two countries where the price rose more than in Portugal: Germany, where the increase reached 73% and Slovakia, where the increase reached 60.3%.
But there are several sugar-based products that have seen bigger increases in Portugal than the average price growth of these same items in the other 19 economies that make up the eurozone, such as chocolate, honey, jam, marmalade and most confectionery products – the latter grew by 16.1% compared to 15.6% in the other countries.
Salt was also more expensive in Portugal than the eurozone average, with an increase of 19.7% compared to 18.6% in the eurozone. A similar situation occurred with the price of sauces, spices and culinary herbs. Coffee, which costs 9.5% more at the time of purchase, and baby food, which saw an annual price increase of 18%, are still higher than the euro average (6.8% and 12.5% respectively)
The price of mineral water rose by around 13.3% – compared to 10% on average in the eurozone – and liqueurs and distilled drinks rose by 7.8% in Portugal, above the average for all other economies (6.8%).
Rents for housing in Portugal have become more expensive (up 4.7%) than in the eurozone as a whole, but the cost of home maintenance, hiring electricians and painters and water supplies have also followed suit.
In Portugal, gas and natural gas increased by 7.8% in the first case and 22.6% in the second. The eurozone average followed a different path: in both cases prices fell by around 5.2%.
A similar trend affected almost all the prices of health-related services in Portugal, which rose by 5% overall, two percentage points more than the average for the eurozone. In particular, the increase was most significant for laboratory tests and X-rays. In Portugal, the price of this service has risen by 7% since July 2022, while on average in the European Union it has fallen by 0.5%.
Price changes were also higher in Portugal for general medical consultations (3.7%) and specialty consultations (3.4%), as well as for dental consultations, where the average price increase in the eurozone was 3.1% and in Portugal it was 3.8%.
Similarly, according to Eurostat data, the price of medical products and equipment is 5.9% higher in Portugal – in the eurozone the average rise was 3.3% – and the value of pharmaceutical products has risen by 6.1% since last year, higher than the average for the other 29 economies, which was only 2.5%.
Buying a car in Portugal is 4% more expensive today, but the increase is lower than the eurozone average (5.9%). Getting a driving license has become more expensive in Portugal than in the eurozone as a whole. The cost of practical and code lessons, as well as driving tests, rose by 6.1% compared to the 2.8% increase recorded in the euro zone average.
The price of some forms of passenger transport also experienced the same phenomenon, in the case of those who take the bus, metro or streetcar. For the first, the cost increased by 1% and for the second and third by 2.6%. In the eurozone, on the other hand, there was a drop in the price of bus tickets and a slight increase (1.4%) in the price of streetcars and most underground transportation.
Check out the prices that are rising more than in the eurozone
Rate of change between July 2022 and July this year
Product or service (rate of change in Portugal; rate of change in the euro zone)
Food
Dried, salted or smoked meats (11.3%; 9.6%) || Sugar (60%;50.6%) || Sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery (18.9%;16.7%) || Jams , marmalades and honey (16.9%; 14.4%) || Chocolate (13.7%; 13.2%) || Pastry products (16.1%;15.6%) || Sauces and condiments (19.7%; 18.6%) || Salt, spices and herbs (12.3%; 11%) || Baby food (18%;12.5%) || Cocoa and chocolate powder (26.2%; 16.3%) || Fresh or chilled fruit (16.2%; 11.6%) || Fruit (14.6%; 11%)
Drinks
Non-alcoholic drinks (13.1%; 11.4%) || Coffee, tea and cocoa (11.4%; 7.7%) || Coffee (9.5%; 6.8%) || Mineral waters, soft drinks, fruit and vegetable juices (13.9%;13.4%) || Mineral waters (13.3%; 10.9%) || Soft drinks (14.5%; 12.9%) || Spirits (7.8%; 6.9%) || Spirits and liqueurs (7.8%; 6.8%)
Housing
Rents for housing (4.7%; 2.7%) || Actual rents paid by tenants (4.7%; 2.7%) || Maintenance and repair of housing (9.3%; 6.7%) || Plumbing services (8.1%;6.5%) || Electricians ‘ services (10%; 5.7%) || Painters’ services (12.2%; 6.7%) || Water supply and housing-related services (5.3%;4.3%) || Gas (7.8%; -5.2%) || Natural gas and town gas (22.6%; -5.2%) || Home furnishings (7.2%; 5.2%) || Refrigerators, freezers and fridge-freezers (6.5%;3.4%) || Coffee and tea making machines (8.6%; 6.6%) || Domestic services and household services (7.9%; 6.3%) || Cleaning services (8.3%; 5%) ||
Health
Health (5%; 3%) || Medical products, appliances and equipment (5.9%; 3.3%) || Pharmaceutical products (6.1%; 3.6%) || Corrective glasses and contact lenses (4.7%; 2.7%) || Medical and paramedical services (5%; 2.2%) || General and family medicine (3.7%;2.1%) || Specialized medicine (3.4%; 2.3%) || Dental medicine (3.8%; 3.1%) || Clinical analyses and X-ray centers (7%; -0.5%) || Thermal baths, corrective gymnastics, ambulance and therapeutic equipment rental (12.5%; 5.8%) ||
Transport and communications
Driving lessons, exams, driving licenses and aptitude tests (6.1%; 2.8%) || Passenger transport by metro and streetcar (1%; -1.3%) || Communications (3.8%; -0.1%) || Postal services (7.4%; 3.9%) || Internet access services (3.7%; 0.9%) || Packaged telecommunications services (5.4%; 2.8%)
Tourism and catering
Restaurants and hotels (12.6%; 7.6%) || Restaurants, cafés and similar (9.3%; 7.2%)
Others
Cinemas, theaters, concerts (9.8%; 5.2%) || Hairdressing and personal care salons (5.4%; 5%)
Zero VAT helps lower prices
Also according to Eurostat data, analyzing a sample of 18 products that are part of the food basket that the Portuguese government decided would no longer be taxed with Value Added Tax (VAT) as of mid-April, it can be seen that the disappearance of the tax allowed prices to fall across the board from March to July, but that there are still products whose price has increased.
On the side of falling prices, you can see that, for example, vegetables fell by 10% between March and July, the price of milk fell by 6.9% and chicken by 2.9%. Even so, there were increases, for example, in the price of potatoes, which became slightly more expensive (0.1%), and fruit, which rose by more than 7% overall, and was even higher than the eurozone average (4.5%).
Meat in general also saw its price drop between March and July (0.8%), with beef and veal falling by 2.5% and the price of pork falling by 3.5%.
Check out the prices
Rate of change between March and July 2023
Product or service (rate of change in Portugal; rate of change in the euro zone)
Potatoes (0.1%; 13.8%) || Vegetables (-11%; -6.2%) || Fruit (7.3%; 4.6%) || Fresh or chilled fruit (8.6%; 5.3%) || Olive oil (-4.9%;8.9%) || Butter (-7%; -1.7%) || Eggs (-6.2%; 0.5%) || Yogurts (-10%; -0.2%) || Cheese and cottage cheese (-6.9%; -0.7%) || Fresh whole milk (-6.9%; -2.9%) || Fish and shellfish (-5.2%; 0.6%) || Poultry (-2.9%; 0.5%) || Meat (-0.9%; 2%) || Beef and veal (-2.5%;1%) || Pork (-3.5%; 3%) || Pasta and couscous products (-7.1%; 0.9%) || Bread (-6.6%; 0.7%) || Rice (-5.4%; 3.1%).
